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

Wang Chen

1774

Ink on paper

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A traditional Chinese ink wash painting depicts a mountainous landscape with a waterfall, winding paths, and scattered buildings. A small pavilion sits atop a distant peak. Born in Kiangsu province, Wang Ch'en was a descendant of the great literatus Wang Shih-min and a great grandson of the artist Wang Yuan-ch'i. 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 Ch'ing. <P>Wang's inscriptions here indicate that the basis for this album of large landscapes was the natural scenery of Ch'u, a Warring States (480-221 BCE) kingdom located south of the Yangtze River. In 1774, Wang was serving as a low-level official in this region.