Landscapes 1646

Fan Qi produced this set of landscape paintings in China, likely during the Qing dynasty. It shows us how educated elites, disenfranchised after the fall of the Ming dynasty, created a refined culture of retreat. The scholar-artist cultivated the arts as a moral discipline, reinforcing social hierarchy through aesthetic refinement. Notice the dwelling tucked serenely into the landscape. The literati tradition idealized withdrawal from public life. The highly cultivated style of the painting suggests the artist’s deep understanding of the canon of landscape painting. In this period we see the institutionalization of art collecting and connoisseurship. To understand the cultural significance of this painting, one must study not only the artist's biography but also the history of artistic patronage and collecting in China. By looking into these resources, we recognize that even seeming acts of renunciation were tied to specific social roles.