Summer gatherings in mountain villas (1 of a set of 12)

清朝 華喦 夏居山莊圖 金箋紙水墨
These twelve paintings (B74D5-B74D16) feature summer scenes of scholars gathering in a mountain villa. The scholars are dressed in the long robes of the day and are gathered in groups of two and three. Hua Yan appears to have been interested in capturing, with each group, the pleasures of a particular activity, such as walking into the villa, reading in the corridor, watching a waterfall, looking at mountains, paddling a boat, holding a fan, and searching for sacred mushrooms.
ARTIST'S BIOGRAPHY:
Hua Yan came from a poor family in Shanghang, Fujian province. He apprenticed in the family trade at the age of twenty but was forced to seek a living elsewhere. He eventually settled in the wealthy city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and later that of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province; in both places he made a living as a professional painter. Hua was generally regarded as "Superb in Three" (poetry, painting, and calligraphy).
In painting he mastered the genres of birds and flowers; animals; and human figures. In calligraphy he studied Tang masters.