Landscape

Yong · 17th century

This landscape painting is an example of Individualism, a branch of painting in Chinese art that rejected realism in favor of artistic expression. Here, Yong has painted a sparse, impressionistic scene of a mountain and trees; there is very little sign of human activity, aside from a small hut on a plateau on the right. <br /> Yong was influenced by Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) artist Ni Zan, one of the greatest literati (scholar-artist) painters of that time, who created his quiet, somber, monochrome paintings in direct defiance of traditional concepts of Chinese painting, influencing many Chinese artists that came after him. <br /> Yong’s poem reads: <br /> I will not imply physical resemblance to painting <br /> I will paint this object sparsely and with simplicity, but endow it with emotion <br /> I painted this for a friend on an autumn evening