Harvard Art Museums > 2010.609: Landscape with Poems Paintings with Calligraphy Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Landscape with Poems (Wen Zhengming 文徵明) , 2010.609,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 26, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/337240. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2010.609 People Wen Zhengming 文徵明, Chinese (1470 - 1559) Title Landscape with Poems Other Titles Original Language Title: 詩畫合璧卷 Classification Paintings with Calligraphy Work Type painting with calligraphy, handscroll Date 1530-1531 Places Creation Place: East Asia, China Period Ming dynasty, 1368-1644 Culture Chinese Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/337240 Physical Descriptions Medium Handscroll; the painting in ink and colors on silk, with signature of the artist reading "Jiajing gengyin qiyue siri; Zhengming xie", and with two seals of the artist reading "Zheng" and "Ming"; the calligraphy in ink on paper, with signature of the artist reading "Zhengming", and with two seals of the artist reading "Wen Zheng Ming Yin" and "Heng Shan". Dimensions painting: H. 28 x W. 211.1 cm (11 x 83 1/8 in.) poem: H. 25.1 x W. 115.6 cm (9 7/8 x 45 1/2 in.) mounting: H. 34.2 cm (13 7/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks inscription: The signature on the painting reads:: "Jiajing gengyin qiyue siri Zhengming xie" (i.e. the painting is dated to the fourth day of the seventh month of 1530) seal: Two seals of the artist on the painting proper, square, red, relief, immediately following the signature, one seal immediately below the other, as follows:: "Zheng" and "Ming" inscription: The signature on the calligraphy reads:: "Zhengming" inscription: The calligraphy is dated to year:: "xinmao" (i.e. the calligraphy is dated to 1531) seal: Seal of the artist following the signature, square, red, intaglio: : "Wen Zheng Ming Yin" seal: Seal of the artist following the signature, square, red, relief:: "Heng Shan" inscription: A traditional, wooden storage box accompanies the scroll. Written in archaic script, the label on the box reads: "Wen Zhengming shi shu he bi" inscription: A traditional, wooden storage box accompanies the scroll. A handwritten note attached to the end of the box reads:: "zi wei xinmao", indicating the 1531 date of the calligraphy. Provenance Recorded Ownership History [Through?], likely Beijing, sold; to Weng Xincun (1791-1862), by ineritance; to Weng Tonghe (1830-1904), by bequest; to Weng Zhenghan, by bequest; to Weng Ansun, by bequest; to Weng Zhilan (1883-1919), by bequest; to Weng Wan-go H.C. Weng (born 1918), 1919, gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2010. NOTE: The Weng-Family collection was assembled mainly by Weng Tonghe (1830-1904), though Weng Tonghe acquired a few works by inheritance from his father, Weng Xincun (1791-1862). The majority of the works in the Weng-Family collection were acquired during Weng Tonghe's years of service in Beijing in the mid- to late nineteenth century. This scroll by Wen Zhengming likely was acquired in Beijing at that time. Thus, the probable direct line of provenance for this scroll is as follows: Possibly collected by Weng Xincun (1791-1862) Owned by Weng Tonghe (1830-1904); possibly acquired by inheritance from Weng Xincun, likely acquired by purchase in Beijing Weng Tonghe (1830-1904) by bequest to Weng Zhenghan Weng Zhenghan by bequest to Weng Ansun Weng Ansun by bequest to Weng Zhilan (1883-1919) Weng Zhilan by bequest to Weng Wan-go H.C. Weng (born 1918); thus, Wan-go H.C. Weng, the donor to the H/AM, acquired the scroll by inheritance in 1919, just a year after his birth. Wan-go H.C. Weng brought the Weng-Family collection, including this scroll from China to the United States late in 1948. The Weng-Collection inventory number is A-22. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Wan-go H. C. Weng in memory of Virginia Dzung Weng Accession Year 2010 Object Number 2010.609 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description This long handscroll comprises a four-character frontispiece, a landscape painted in ink and color on silk, and a poem written in ink on paper in running script ("xingshu"). Both the painting and poem are signed "Zhengming", indicating that both works were created by the celebrated Ming-dynasty literati painter Wen Zhengming (1470-1559). Executed in the so-called "blue-green" manner (an archaistic mode of painting that evokes the vibrant malachite-blue and azurite-green mineral pigments used by early Chinese painters to color natural scenery), the painting depicts several figures--probably scholars and servants, based on the dress and accoutrements carried--positioned alone or in pairs at various points in the landscape. Figures are shown meandering along mountain a paths, gazing at a waterfall or across calm waters, or quietly meditating while floating on a skiff. The poem that follows the painting was written a year later than the painting, but it makes elegant reference to the landscape imagery that precedes it. Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
