Lot 207: FANG CONGYI (ACTIVE CA. 1340-1380)

CLOUDY LANDSCAPE

16 1/2 by 10 in., 42 by 25.5 cm.

hanging scroll, ink on paper
with one seal possibly of the artist, Fang Hu (?).

inscriptions on the painting; Xu Taixu; Shi Miyin (Monk Miyin); Xu Dazuo, with one seal of the calligrapher, Xu Da Zuo Yin; Wuren Tengyuan, with one seal of the calligrapher, Hong Yuan; and "Shendu heshang," with one seal of the calligrapher (illegible)

With twelve collectors' seals, including two of Xie Songzhou (18th century), Song Zhou, and Qing Li Lu Suo Zhai Cang; two of Xie Lincun, Lin Cun Yuan Ju, and Xie Lin Cun Shi Zhen Cang Shu Hua; five of Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Zhang Yuan, Da Qian, Nan Bei Dong Xi Zhi You Xiang Sui Wu Bie Nan, Di Guo Zhi Fu, Qiu Tu Bao Gu Rou Qing; one of Luo Zhenyu, Shang Yu Yong Feng Xiang Ren Luo Zhen Yu Zi Shu Yan Yi Zi Shu Yi; and one of C. C. Wang, Wang Shi Ji Qian Zhen Cang Zhi Yin

Attached title label by Tongyin guan (Qin Zuyong, 1825-1884); outer title label by Luo Zhenyu (1866-1940), inscribed wood box

LITERATURE

James Cahill, An Index of Early Chinese Painters and Paintings, p.276.

NOTE

This landscape emphasizes Fang Congyi's skilled brushwork, which he wielded to display a new expressionist mode underscoring shifts in both form and meaning. His vibrant brushstrokes render the mountains with a quality of weightlessness but still very much material when juxtaposed against the empty spaces of water and clouds. In this painting, the influence from Song painters Mi Fu and Mi Youren is evident. A native of Jiangxi, Fang Congyi attempted to pursue a political career in the Yuan court but was unsuccessful and retreated back into the Daoist order and into the art of landscape painting. As a Daoist priest, he spent much of his time traveling through landscapes and mountains, which gave him unending inspiration for his works.