Album Leaf, from Landscapes from Nature, Poetry, and Art

Wang Chen

1774

Ink on paper

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A traditional Chinese ink painting depicts a serene landscape with towering, mist-shrouded mountains and a tranquil body of water. A small village with traditional houses and trees is nestled on a rocky outcrop in the foreground, while boats navigate the water. Born in Jiangsu province, Wang Chen was a descendant of the great literatus Wang Shimin and a great grandson of the artist Wang Yuanqi. He served for a while in the Grand Secretariat and as a prefect in Hunan province. Wang's illustrious family heritage strengthened his reputation as an orthodox painter and he is one of the so-called Four Minor Wangs of the later Qing. Wang's inscriptions here indicate that the basis for this album of large landscapes was the natural scenery of Chu, a Warring States (475-221 BCE) kingdom located south of the Yangzi River. In 1774, Wang was serving as a low-level official in this region. His inscript