Walking with Staffs on a Pine Hill

Object Details

• Artist

  Li Shizhuo 李世倬 (1690-1770)

• Label

  As a young man, Li Shizhuo served in the local government and also studied painting. One mentor was his uncle, Gao Qipei (1672-1734), an innovative artist; but the traditional scholar-painters Wang Hui (1623-1717) and Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715) influenced him more. They guided Li's development of a style that features elegant, dry brushwork, as seen in Walking with Staffs.

  In the 1730s Li served the court in the imperial capital and was sometimes called upon to paint for the emperor. Despite strong favor, he inexplicably left the capital around 1750 and stopped painting for the court. Of this piece, from his retired years, Li wrote that it was inspired by the memory of a fourteenth-century landscape he had once seen. Although he mentions the artist Huang Gongwang, (1259-1364), the work is closer to another master of the same period, Wang Meng.

• Provenance

  To 1963

  Richard Bryant Hobart (1885-1963). [1]

  1969

  Sale, New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, The Richard Bryant Hobart Collection of Chinese Ceramics & Paintings, Part 2, December 12, 1969, lot 284: “Two Scholars on a Pine Hill.” [2]

  To 1987

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), New York. [3]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York. [4]

  Notes:

  [1] See object file.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1.

  [4] See note 1.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)

  Pavilions and Immortal Mountains: Chinese Decorative Art and Paintings (September 28, 1987 to February 28, 1988)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Richard Bryant Hobart

  Parke-Bernet Galleries

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1750s, 1760s

• Name

  Sackler, Arthur M., Parke-Bernet Galleries, Hobart, Richard Bryant

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Pine tree, Mountains, Description and travel, Art, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings