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 rugged mountain landscape with sparse vegetation clinging to the rocky outcrops. Small figures are scattered across the terrain, suggesting human presence within the vastness of nature. 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.