This book presents twelve major paintings by masters of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Qing dynasty (1644-1911), and modern periods, works given or promised to The Metropolitan Museum of Art by New York collectors Marie-Hélène and Guy Weill. The fully illustrated catalogue presents an in-depth discussion of each painting as well as a transcription and translation of inscriptions and seals.
The book begins with paintings that are quintessential embodiments of Ming literati values: a meditative landscape by Shen Zhou and an idealized portrayal of a gentleman in his yet-to-be-built retirement garden by Wen Zhengming. These are followed by an outstanding group of paintings by early Qing loyalist and orthodox artists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: a rare handscroll composition by the Nanjing painter Liu Yu, a monumental hanging scroll by the Anhui school artist Dai Benxiao, albums by the Anhui painter Mei Qing and the Yangzhou "eccentric" Li Fangying, as well as important works by the two leading Orthodox school painters of the time, Wang Hui and Wang Yuanqi. Also included are selections from a rare set of imperially commissioned rubbings of calligraphies in the Qing palace collection. The book concludes with noteworthy early works by the twentieth-century masters Zhang Daqian and C. C. Wang.
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