Landscape in the Style of Li Tang

Object Details

• Artist

  Qiu Ying 仇英 (ca. 1494-1552)

• Label

  This handscroll by Qiu Ying, one of the four masters of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), bears the red seal marks of many previous owners, including Xiang Yuanbian (1525-1590), the artist's major patron. A professional artist, Qiu Ying was renowned for his unusual ability to paint in both an academic, highly refined style and in a more scholarly, calligraphic mode. Here, Qiu Ying created his own mixture of styles, while also basing his work on the antique model of of the Song dynasty painter Li Tang (circa 1070s - ca. 1150s). The painting is a panoramic landscape filled with public and private buildings, including business establishments and residences.

  One of the most eye-catching structures is a typical Ming dynasty scholar's garden located to the left of a small wooden bridge, which a scholar crosses on his way from visiting the garden proprietor. The property is surrounded by a wall, a quintessential feature of Chinese garden architecture; bamboo, drawn in ink and colored with blue wash, grows inside the courtyard. Chinese scholars referred to bamboo as a "gentleman" and symbol of moral integrity, since its stalks always return upright, even after bending in a violent wind.

  Beyond the scholar's garden (to the left), Qiu Ying depicted a tavern, with customers inside eating a meal. Farther to the left, a second garden is depicted with two scholars sitting on a terrace overlooking water. The red lacquer table visible inside one pavillion suggests the fine furnishings that most Ming garden owners enjoyed; its portrayal here is unusual, as many Ming artists downplayed the luxury of garden villas.

  Best known for his precise, jewel-like landscapes, here Qiu Ying mostly used free, lively brushwork and soft colors. Later collectors who admired this painting noted the rarity of seeing a landscape by Qiu Ying with such a spontaneous style of brushwork.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Guests of the Hills: Travelers in Chinese Landscape Painting (August 23, 2008 to March 15, 2009)

  Chinese Painting: Che and Wu Schools (Mainstreams of Landscape Painting in the Ming Dynasty) (October 15, 1982 to March 17, 1983)

  Ming Dynasty Paintings (December 4, 1978 to June 14, 1979)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting, East Corridor (November 10, 1955 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting, Gallery 2, 1955 (April 11, 1955 to November 10, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 1947 (January 7, 1947 to April 11, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting, 1946 (April 30, 1946 to January 8, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Scrolls (July 19, 1943 to April 30, 1946)

  Chinese Panels and Han Pottery (February 25, 1925 to July 19, 1943)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1530s, 1550s

• Name

  Qiu, Ying

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Description and travel, Landscapes, Art, Chinese Art, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Gardens

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings