137 Items in this Learning Collection
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Copyright
All Rights Reserved ()

Scholar in a Landscape

Accession Number
1979/2.19

Title
Scholar in a Landscape

Artist(s)
Lan Ying

Object Creation Date
early 17th century - mid 17th century

Medium & Support
album leaf, ink and color on paper

Dimensions
12 3/10 in x 8 ¾ in (31.27 cm x 22.23 cm);22 1/16 in x 18 1/16 in (56.04 cm x 45.88 cm);16 ½ in x 11 7/16 in (41.91 cm x 29.05 cm);12 3/10 in x 8 ¾ in (31.27 cm x 22.23 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Label copy
Inscription: Painted by the old mountaineer, Lan Ying
Seal of the artist
An accomplished professional painter from Hangzhou, Lan Ying is considered the last master of the Zhe School. However, in his later years he created his own individual approach, selectively drawing upon the styles of earlier painters, notably those of the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1280–1368) dynasties. The appealing use of color and lively, relaxed brushwork—especially the use of stippling or scattered dots to create texture—is characteristic of Lan Ying.
Winter 2015 Gallery Rotation
Lan Ying, an accomplished professional painter, is considered the last master of the Zhe School, which originated in his hometown in Zhejiang province. In this album leaf depicting a scholar crossing a bridge in the mountains, he skillfully plays with the sense of pictorial depth. The rendering is so ambiguous, for example, that it is difficult to determine what is rock and what is ground. Such attempts to disorient the viewer were regarded as sophisticated by art critics and connoisseurs at the time. The painting also demonstrates Lan Ying’s lively use of color, particularly in the blue, red, and yellow washes that suggest the tree leaves. Scattered dots applied with a dry brush are used to depict the vegetation in the fore- and middle ground, adding a sense of playfulness to the painting. This leaf originally belonged to a set that has been separated and dispersed.

Subject matter
A landscape of mountains and a river with three trees in the foreground. Under the far left tree is a person dressed in blue and white robes (the scholar). The scholar is standing on a small log that forms a bridge across the river.

Physical Description
A vertical painting with signature on the right side. Colors primarily include gray and faded browns/oranges. Paper is faded yellow color.

Primary Object Classification
Unbound Work

Primary Object Type
leaf

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Landscapes
figures in landscape
trees
water

4 Related Resources

Ink and Realisms
(Part of: Artist Associations and Art Movements)
Landscape and Nature, Comparative and Historical
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)
W22 Susan Erickson - Art History 313
(Part of: F23 Susan Erickson Art History 311 Chinese Art)

& Author Notes

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