Artwork
清 龔賢 墨筆山水詩畫 冊|清 龔賢 自題 山水十六開 冊|Landscapes with poems
清 龔賢 墨筆山水詩畫 冊|清 龔賢 自題 山水十六開 冊|Landscapes with poems is an unspecified painting by the Baroque artist Gong Xian. It dates from 1688 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Each shows misty mountains, a few trees, and a poem written beside the scene.
This album has 15 small landscape paintings on silk. Each shows misty mountains, a few trees, and a poem written beside the scene. The brushwork is soft with almost no ink, just light gray washes.
Gong Xian painted these in 1688 during a quiet time in Chinese art. He avoided bright colors, using ink’s depth to suggest space. The poems add another layer, like footnotes to the scenery.
Check out the full album at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Subject & Meaning
The album presents a sequence of monochrome ink landscapes, a traditional Chinese genre in which natural scenery carries literary and philosophical meaning. Each leaf pairs pictorial imagery with Gong Xian's own inscribed verses, fusing painting and poetry into a single expressive statement. The integration of calligraphy and landscape reflects the literati ideal that brushwork, scenery, and text together convey the artist's inner response to nature rather than mere topographical description.
The repeated pairing of image and poem across the sixteen surviving leaves emphasizes contemplation, retreat, and the meditative observation of mountains, water, and atmosphere as enduring subjects of scholarly reflection.
Technique & Style
The work is an album of fifteen paper leaves produced in 1688 by the Chinese painter Gong Xian, each leaf combining ink‑brush landscapes with self‑authored poems. Executed in the traditional literati medium of ink on paper, the pieces measure approximately 27.3 cm in height and 41 cm in width, reflecting the album format common in Qing dynasty collections. Brushwork displays a vigorous, expressive line that defines rugged mountains and flowing water, while the accompanying calligraphy integrates poetic texts directly into the visual field.
The support consists of individual leaves bound together, and the handling appears to have preserved the delicate ink washes, though the condition of the set is not specified in the available records.
History & Provenance
The work was created in 1688 in China as part of an album of eighteen leaves by the Qing‑period painter Gong Xian; fifteen of those leaves survive in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession numbers 1980.516.2a–c, 1981.4.1a–o). The album, titled 清龚贤自题山水十六开, contains landscape paintings with poetic inscriptions and is classified as a landscape painting that depicts poetry. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired the leaves, and they are presently catalogued in its collection as part of its Chinese painting holdings. The dating of the work is documented as 1688, matching the artist’s known activity during that period.
Overview
Gong Xian, a prominent figure among the Eight Masters of Jinling and the Nanjing school, created Landscapes with Poems in 1688. This album originally comprised eighteen leaves, but now consists of fifteen, each featuring a painted landscape accompanied by a poem. The work exemplifies the Qing dynasty's painting traditions, showcasing the artist's distinctive approach to natural scenery and literary expression.
Context
Created during a period of relative artistic introspection in China, Landscapes with Poems reflects Gong Xian's individual artistic vision within the broader Qing tradition. His choice to focus on the interplay of ink and verse, rather than elaborate color palettes, resonated with scholarly ideals. The album serves as a testament to the enduring practice of combining visual art with literary commentary, a hallmark of traditional Chinese aesthetics.
Artist & collection
Artist
Gong Xian (simplified Chinese: 龚贤; traditional Chinese: 龔賢; pinyin: Gōng Xián; Wade–Giles: Kung Hsien; 1618–1689; the specific year of birth is disputed as early as 1617 or as late as 1620; born in Kunshan, Jiangsu) was…
