Artwork
清 王宸 清溪柳橋圖 摺扇|Landscape
清 王宸 清溪柳橋圖 摺扇|Landscape is an ink painting by the Qing dynasty painting artist Wang Chen. It dates from 1788 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
While the specific title references a clear stream and a willow bridge, the available records explicitly identify the primary depicted subject as a mountain.
Created in 1788 by the Qing dynasty artist Wang Chen, this work is a landscape painting executed in ink and color on paper. The composition depicts a mountainous environment, consistent with the traditional Chinese genre of shan shui (mountain-water). While the specific title references a clear stream and a willow bridge, the available records explicitly identify the primary depicted subject as a mountain.
The piece originally functioned as a folding fan before being mounted as an album leaf, a format often associated with intimate, scholarly appreciation of nature. The imagery represents a stylized interpretation of the natural world, focusing on geological forms rather than specific topographical documentation or complex narrative symbolism.
Technique & Style
Wang Chen's Landscape is executed in ink and color on paper, serving as the primary support for the composition. The artwork is painted on a folding fan, which has subsequently been mounted as an album leaf, a format that dictates the curved, horizontal dimensions of the piece. Measuring 18.1 cm in height and 51.4 cm in width, the fan's shape naturally influences the panoramic, sweeping arrangement of the landscape.
Stylistically, the work belongs to the landscape genre and depicts mountainous terrain. Dated to 1788, the piece reflects the traditional Chinese painting approach of its era, utilizing the fluid handling of ink and color to render the natural elements of mountains and, as suggested by its title, a clear stream and willow bridge.
History & Provenance
The work titled 清溪柳橋圖 is a folding-fan painting attributed to Wang Chen, created in 1788 in China. It is executed in ink and color on paper and mounted as an album leaf, classifying it within the landscape genre and depicting a mountain landscape. The piece was produced as a fan and later assembled into an album leaf format, reflecting 18th-century Chinese artistic practices.
It has been part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, with recorded dimensions of 18.1 cm in height and 51.4 cm in width. No earlier owners or commissioning details are recorded in the available documentation, and no accession number or exhibition history is documented in the provided sources.
Overview
Wang Chen created this landscape, titled Clear Stream and Willow Bridge, in 1788. Rendered with ink and light color on paper, it was originally a folding fan that has since been mounted as an album leaf. The composition presents a serene natural scene, characteristic of traditional Chinese painting, featuring a winding river, distant mountains, and a prominent bridge.
Artist & collection
