Falling Flower 落花圖 (冊頁)

Object Details

• Artist

  Bada Shanren 八大山人 (朱耷) (1626-1705)

• Label

  Created after Bada Shanren had left the monkhood and become a professional artist, these four leaves (F1998.56.1 thru F1998.56.4) originally belonged to a larger album of similar ink sketches. Both style and subject matter are typical of his small-scale works during the late 1680s and early 1690s. Each object stands out boldly on the otherwise empty white paper, and the drawing is simple and straightforward, but Bada's brushwork and skillful use of ink achieve a wide range of tonal effects, from wet and light to heavy and dark.

  An unusual term, sheshi, meaning "involved in affairs," serves as a primary compositional element in the leaf, showing a falling ink-flower, and appears in either Bada's signature or seals on two of the three remaining leaves. Bada used this term exclusively during the period between 1690 and 1693, when he was completely "involved" in perfecting his painting technique. Despite their outward simplicity, these four unassuming album leaves illustrate Bada's audacious approach to composition as well as his abiding concern with ink tonality and the visual possibilities of calligraphic brushwork in painting.

• Provenance

  To 1997

  Wang Fangyu (1913-1997) and Sum Wai (1918-1996), to 1997 [1]

  To 1998

  Shao F. Wang, New York and Short Hills, NJ, by descent, to 1998 [2]

  From 1998

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Shao F. Wang in 1998

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Note 4, Joseph Chang and Stephen D. Allee, May 7, 1998, and Joseph Chang and Stephen D. Allee, August 18, 1998, in the object record. See also Curatorial Note 3.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Enigmas: The Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705) (June 20, 2015 to January 3, 2016)

  In Pursuit of Heavenly Harmony: Paintings and Calligraphy by Bada Shanren (1626-1705) from the Bequest of Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai (April 26 to October 13, 2003)

  A Literati Life in the Twentieth Century: Wang Fangyu - Artist, Scholar, Connoisseur (February 11 to June 20, 1999)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Wang Fangyu (1913-1997)

  Sum Wai (1918-1996)

  Shao F. Wang

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Bequest from the collection of Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai, donated in their memory by Mr. Shao F. Wang

• 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

  1690s

• Name

  Wang, Fangyu, Wai, Sum, Wang, Shao F.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Shao F. Wang collection, Flowers, Hibiscus

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings