Landscape 1839 - 1916

Editor: This is "Landscape," created sometime between 1839 and 1916, attributed to Zhang Shanghe. It's currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s created with ink, tempera, fresco and watercolor, as well as drawing and calligraphy, all on paper! It feels so… serene. It has a wonderful feeling of depth created by overlapping lines. What strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: Serene is spot on, yes! It’s almost meditative, isn't it? What I love about this, and so much traditional Asian art, is its ability to evoke a sense of journey, both literal and spiritual. I imagine the artist wandering through the hills, internalizing the scene, and then, days or weeks later, recreating it from memory and emotion. Do you notice the areas where the ink is lighter versus the parts where it is darkest? Editor: I do! The mountain at the very top is pale, like it's receding into mist, compared to the sharp dark lines of the trees in the midground. It does evoke that feeling of wandering... Curator: Exactly! It's all about *suggesting* depth, not dictating it. You see, there's no vanishing point in the Western sense. And those misty areas you described? Those are what the artist *doesn't* paint that gives the work so much of its strength. Negative space is more like a presence in itself. Almost breathing! And think about the calligraphy too! Does that evoke anything specific? Editor: I can see it as almost like the artist's signature or maybe even a personal reflection? So, like, literally weaving their thoughts into the landscape? Curator: Beautifully said! It all blends together, nature, observation, thought, and spirit... into a landscape we’re invited to wander in, just like you mentioned when you talked about journey at the outset. Editor: It is amazing to think that I am embarking on a journey and understanding this amazing artwork. I love learning about art's intimate language! Curator: Exactly, the artist's journey echoes our own. Art is not so distant.