Landscape in the Style of the Four Great Masters of the Yuan Dynasty

Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715) was born in Taicang, Jiangsu Province. As one of the Four Wangs, including his grandfather Wang Shimin, Wang Jian and Wan Hui, he carried on the conservative Qing Dynasty landscape style in the tradition of Ming Dynasty master, Dong Qichang.

These four scrolls were painted after the each of the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty, Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, Ni Zan and Wang Meng. The artist uses both "dry" brush-strokes with very little ink for the craggy mountain faces, and inky, "wet" brush-strokes for shadingeffects. Though ink is the primary medium, the use of colors gives the scrolls a brightness typical of the artist. The composition, which combines light brushstrokes with a sensitivity to rhythm, reflects Dong Qichang's emphasis on "energy" in painting.