Landscape

Li Liufang (courtesy names: Maozai and Changheng, art names: Tanyuan, Xianghai, Liufu Daoren and Shenyu Jushi) was a native of Fengnan, Shexian, Anhui province, but resided in Jiading, Shanghai. He decided to amuse himself with painting and writing calligraphy in light of the peril facing the dynasty and his own disillusion with civil examinations. In literature, he was one of the “Four Masters of Jiading”. In painting, he ranked with Dong Qichang (1555-1636), Wang Shimin (1592-1680) and others as the “Nine Painting Friends”.

Painted on silk, this handscroll shows a peaceful and fantastic world. The uninhabited landscape of river and distant mountains is rendered with spontaneity. The swift and sparse brushstrokes are characteristic of the artist’s later style. He inscribed a poem showing his love for landscape. This painting was once in the collection the late Ming connoisseur Zhu Zhichi (17th Century). Gao Shiqi (1645-1703), the early Qing connoisseur also left a colophon at the end. In the modern era, it was in the collection of Xiao huangfang zhai (The Small Painting Boat Studio) in Guangzhou, and finally entered the Art Museum for permanent collection in 1999.