Listening to the Sound of Autumn in a Misty Grove China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

Listening to the Sound of Autumn in a Misty Grove

煙林秋聲圖

1657

Zhang Feng 張風

(Chinese, active c. 1632–1662)

China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Painting: 96.5 x 34.5 cm (38 x 13 9/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 199.7 x 59 cm (78 5/8 x 23 1/4 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1977.173

Location: not on view

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Description

Zhang Feng from Nanjing passed the local government examinations shortly before the fall of the Ming dynasty. With the Manchu conquest, he joined the ranks of loyalists who refused to serve the new regime. He chose the intermittently frugal life of a Buddhist adept. Many of his paintings lament the loss of the empire. In this scroll, he depicts a lone figure in a stark landscape of frosty atmosphere enshrouded in mists. Close looking reveals red strokes that color the grounds, a way of expressing his loyalty to the Ming whose family name Zhu means red.