It's not often that people line up for an exhibition on a weekday, but that's exactly what's happening at the China Academy of Art Museum, where 13 top national ink-wash paintings from various museums are on display until April 16. This is an unparalleled opportunity for museum-goers.
The highlight of the exhibition is Huang Gongwang's surviving work Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, which is considered one of the top artistic paintings in China. Inspired by the still water and poetic views along Hangzhou's Fuchun River, Huang painted the masterpiece between 1348 and 1350. It was literally burned into two pieces during the reign of Emperor Shunzhi (1644-1661) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Its last keeper, Wu Hongyu, loved the painting so much that he ordered it to be burned so he could take it to the afterlife when he died. Wu's nephew rescued the painting, which was already split into two parts. The first smaller piece, slightly over half a meter in length, was renamed The Broken Mountain (or Sheng Shan Tu) and made its way into the Zhejiang Museum in Hangzhou, while the other went to the Palace Museum in Taipei. In 2011, the first section of the painting was loaned to the Palace Museum in Taipei where the two pieces were reunited for the first time since their separation over three and a half centuries ago. Since then, Sheng Shan Tu has rarely been shown to the public. Visitors are highly recommended to seize the rare opportunity to see this masterpiece.
Among the 13 top masterpieces, 10 pieces are painted in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) As the peak of ancient Chinese art, Song ink-wash paintings are considered the typical representative of traditional aesthetics (美学). Another highlight comes from Ma Yuan and Xia Gui.
In their paintings, people can also be seen drinking tea, playing Chinese instruments. or entertaining friends. Usually, human figures only account for a small part of these paintings. highlighting man's insignificance against nature and the painters' detached (超然的) attitude toward life.
