清 袁江 九成宮圖 屏
Yuan Jiang, active ca.1680–ca.1730
The Palace of Nine Perfections China,
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), dated 1691
Set of twelve hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk
Image: 81 1/2 x 18 ft. 5 3/4 in. (207 x 563.2 cm)
Overall with mounting: 94 1/4 x 19 ft. (239.4 x 579.1 cm) Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1982
1982.125a–l
Chinese Gardens: Pavilions, Studios, Retreats
August 18, 2012 – January 6, 2013
Location: Galleries for Chinese Painting and Calligraphy
An exhibition exploring the rich interactions between
pictorial and garden arts in China across more than 1,000 years will be on view
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning August 18. Showcasing more than 70
works—paintings and contemporary photographs as well as ceramics, carved
bamboo, lacquerware, metalwork, and textiles—Chinese Gardens: Pavilions,
Studios, Retreats—will be displayed in eight galleries encircling The Astor
Court, a Chinese garden that is modeled on a 17th-century scholars’ courtyard
in the Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets in Suzhou.
In conjunction with the exhibition, a variety of education
programs will be offered, highlighted by a staging in the Astor Court of the
contemporary composer Tan Dun’s interpretation of the Peony Pavilion (sold out).
In the densely populated urban centers of China, enclosed
gardens have long been an integral part of residential and palace architecture,
serving as extensions of living quarters. The preferred site for hosting
literary gatherings, theatrical performances, and imaginary outings, gardens
were often designed following the same compositional principles used in
painting. And as idealized landscapes, gardens often drew inspiration from
literary themes first envisioned by painters. Not only were painters often
recruited to design gardens, but as gardens came to be identified with the
tastes and personalities of their residents, artists were also called upon to
create idealized paintings of gardens to serve as symbolic portraits intended
to reflect the character of the owner.
Palaces
Organized thematically, the exhibition will illustrate how
garden imagery has remained an abiding source of artistic inspiration and
invention. It will open with a spectacular 18-foot-wide vision of The Palace of
Nine Perfections (1691) by Yuan Jiang (active ca. 1680-ca. 1730), presenting an
imaginary panorama of a seventh-century palace so grand that the emperor had to
ride on horseback between pavilions. Meticulously rendered and sumptuously
embellished with rich mineral colors, this screen-like set of scrolls must have
been commissioned to adorn the grand reception hall of a wealthy merchant’s
home in Yangzhou, the cosmopolitan city where Yuan Jiang worked. The imperial
cavalcade approaching the central palace complex in the painting may even be a
reference to the city fathers’ sumptuous hosting of the Kangxi Emperor (r.
1662-1722) and his entourage when he visited Yangzhou during his celebrated
1689 Southern Inspection Tour. Juxtaposed with Yuan Jiang’s fantasy are
painted, woven, and carved red lacquer works, depicting auspicious or
admonitory narratives set within palace gardens. In many of these works
depictions of young boys at play reflect the perennial wish for male offspring
to carry on the imperial line. In each case, an ornate balustrade, imposing
garden rock or plant, or finely garbed figures synecdochically indicate the
palace setting.
Pavilions and Paradises
Landscape in China has always had a human dimension.
Consequently, architectural elements, particularly pavilions, are a
quintessential feature of both Chinese landscape paintings and gardens. In
gardens, pavilions identify prime vantage points from which to view the
scenery; they also serve as focal points within landscape settings. In
painting, the meticulous “ruled-line” renderings of pavilions celebrate
historical or literary structures or indicate the fabled dwellings of the
immortals—particularly when set within an archaic “blue-and-green” landscape
meant to evoke an archaic “golden age.” Retreats in the Spring Hills, a
12th-century handscroll, and Yuan Jiang’s gemlike fan painting, Palaces of the
Immortals of 1753, are two dazzling examples of the longevity of this theme. In
Chinese lore, such paradises were imagined as the dwelling places of Daoist
immortals. Mortals might stumble upon such magical habitations by losing their
way, passing through a grotto or crossing a stream. In Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao
Entering the Tiantai Mountains, for example, two men gathering herbs stumble
upon a “lost horizon” where time stands still and the residents cease to age.
When they seek to return home, they discover that seven generations have passed
since their departure. In the garden, a moon gate or concealed passage might
signal a similar entry point into an alternative universe.
Temples and Reclusive Dwellings
Buddhist and Daoist temples sometimes functioned as
sanctuaries or resorts where harried city dwellers might find spiritual and
physical sustenance, partaking of simple vegetarian meals, meditation regimes,
lectures, and strolls in the landscape. In the exhibition, Summer Mountains
(ca. 1050) by a court painter features several such monastic retreats set
within an awesome landscape; the painting’s orderly natural hierarchy,
culminating in a towering central peak, was intended as a metaphor for the
emperor presiding over a well-governed state. At the opposite extreme of such
state-sponsored idylls was the ideal of the hermitage or rustic retreat as an
expression of the desire to escape the pressures of politics or commerce. Set
in remote corners of the landscape with no view of other dwellings, these
imaginary havens embodied yearnings for quietude that were usually satisfied by
a stroll in one’s garden. But in times of political turmoil, images of rustic
dwellings conveyed the wish for a sanctuary. Serene enough
to attract a wild deer or a crane, the childlike naiveté of such paintings as
Wang Meng’s (ca. 1308-1385) Simple Retreat, which is featured in the
exhibition, will reveal these visions to be unattainable fantasies.
Literary Gatherings
One of the primary social functions of gardens was to serve
as settings for literary gatherings, where likeminded friends might celebrate
the season, enjoy music, or view rare antiquities, and then compose poems to
commemorate the event. The exhibition will include Elegant Gathering in the
Apricot Garden, attributed to the court artist Xie Huan (act. mid-15th
century), depicting nine of the most powerful officials in the realm who have
gathered to enjoy painting, poetry, and other refined pursuits. Rather than
being portrayed wielding emblems of political or military power, these men
chose to emphasize their status as scholar-gentlemen, underscoring the fact
that, in China, status derived from one’s command of cultural accomplishments.
These same men were also responsible for calling a halt to Admiral Zheng He’s
voyages of exploration—thus manifesting their belief that inward–oriented
self-examination was more important than outward-looking exploration.
Surrounded by oceans and deserts, and countries whose cultures they regarded as
inferior, they saw China as a great walled garden, sufficient unto itself.
Literary Gardens and the Scholar's Studio
Gardens have a long history in China, and famous gardens of
the past—commemorated in painting and poetry—often provided inspiration to
later garden designers. The exhibition will include Fisherman’s Lodge at Mount
Xisai (ca, 1170) by Li Jie (ca. 1124-after 1191), who combined literary and
pictorial references to two Tang–dynasty garden estates in his imaginary
depiction of his own retirement home. He adopted a blue-and-green palette and
created a naïve evocation of historical precedents as a way of demonstrating
his scholarly credentials and disdain for mere craftsmanship. This amateur
approach to painting continued among later literati, who relied increasingly on
spare monochromatic sketches of buildings to convey their ideals of unadorned
simplicity. Wen Zhengming’s (1470-1559) illustrations of the Garden of the
Inept Administrator (1551) provides another example of this in the
exhibition—Wen’s austere depictions were less about the actual garden than
about the rectitude and modesty of the owner.
Denizens of the Garden
One of the favorite themes of traditional Chinese painters
was the careful description of the various fish, birds, and animals that
typically inhabit imperial pleasure parks and private gardens. Rather than
presenting these creatures in their natural habitats, Chinese artists favored
celebrating the collecting of rare fish, fowl or pets within these manmade
microcosms. These tame creatures were thus available for minute study and
careful rendering by court painters who made a specialty of “feathers and fur.”
On view will include The Pleasures of Fishes (1291) by Zhou Dongqing (active
late 13th century) and Finches and Bamboo by Emperor Huizong (1082-1135; r.
1101-25).
A Floral Calendar of the Seasons
Paintings of landscape and flowers constitute two leading
Chinese painting genres. In addition to serving as seasonal markers, many
flowers have deep symbolic associations; for example, in 13th-century China,
naturalistic depictions of lotus in different seasons evoked the ephemeral
nature of physical beauty. In the exhibition, the Lotus and Waterbirds (ca.
1300) will be presented side by side with a contemporary photograph Wind in the
Lotus at Yeast Courtyard (2004) by Lois Conner (b. 1951, U.S.A.), who
chronicled seasonal changes creating horizontal or vertical compositions that
recall Chinese pictorial precedents.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum will offer
various education programs, including gallery talks and a Sunday at the Met on
September 23.
