Nymph of the Luo River

Wei Jiuding (style name Mingxuan), a native of Tiantai in Zhejiang, excelled at landscape, figure, and ruled-line painting. This scroll is done in baimiao fine ink lines to depict the goddess of the Luo River riding mysteriously on clouds and gliding over ripples of misty river waters. Her supple yet decisive and flowing robes flutter in the wind like a twisting dragon ascending to the heavens, fully exhibiting the deity's spirited and otherworldly beauty. Compared to the more complex narrative of other depictions, this painting focuses almost solely on the goddess, the scenery especially lofty and archaic. Behind is a large area of void, at the left are traces of the original paper removed, and at the right is an inscription by the famous contemporary artist Ni Zan. The distance at the top has a few strokes of the brush to suggest rolling peaks, but stylistically they appear to have been added by another hand. The only painting by Wei Jiuding in the National Palace Museum collection, this is a rare and especially precious work.