The water surface is vast and vast, the river trees are tall and tall, and the distant mountains are accompanied by smoke clouds, which makes people feel desolate and cold. This group of works is the "Landscape Album" by the late Ming dynasty painter Li Liufang, which presents a typical literati aesthetic taste. Li Liufang was a "fan" of the Yuan Dynasty painter Ni Zhan, who used the Pingyuan method to compose pictures, using his pen to be sparse and clear, and painted the indifferent and elegant beauty pursued by the literati.
Why does Li Liufang like Ni Zhan so much? Because his experience is somewhat similar to Ni Zhan's. He was born into a family of official eunuchs, and when he became an adult, he coincided with the chaotic era at the end of the Ming Dynasty, so he lived in seclusion. When Wei Zhongxian was in a terrible position, a group of corrupt officials built a shrine for him. As a celebrity, Li Liufang was forced to bow down to Wei Zhongxian Ancestral Hall. Li Liufang left a famous saying, "Bye, a current event." Don't worship, it's a thing of the ages." Word spread about it, and people admired his upright and noble character.
Ni Zhan has a cleanliness fetish, and Li Liufang also has a cleanliness fetish, so although the two of them did not live in the same period, they understood each other on a spiritual level. When Li Liufang painted landscapes, he naturally drew the taste of Ni Zhan. Words are the voice of the heart, and painting can also express feelings. The cold air presented in the painting is, at first glance, a sense of distance. In fact, this is Li Liufang releasing loneliness.
Calligraphy and painting are unique, poetry is unparalleled, or a master. Such a person would rather hide in his hometown and live in seclusion, what does he want! He doesn't want to worship the eunuchs, what is he trying to do! He does not want to be tainted with false ugliness, he pursues truth, goodness and beauty. The chill he presents in the painting, in order to express the loneliness of the heart. There are too few people who can share his like-mindedness, and he can't find friends, so he hides in the painting and feels the aura.
Li Liufang is very talented in painting, and the overall style of the four-frame album is yuanren's brushwork, specific to each frame of the work, there is an emphasis. Some focus on the change of ink color, some focus on expressing changes in brushwork, some focus on expressing qi rhyme, and some focus on expressing their own style. The theme of "Jiangshan Xiao Temple" was painted by many famous artists in the Song and Yuan dynasties. In her creation, Li Liufang bypassed the painting style of the Song and Yuan masters and directly used the characteristics of the five generations of famous artists to paint.
It is very appropriate to describe "Jiangshan Xiao Temple" with "Juran Baking Dong Yuanjiao", and he uses light ink wet brush to draw the unique pale moisture of autumn landscapes. The orderly lines in the chaos are full of the beauty of change, and the ink color is mainly light ink, showing the beautiful and elegant style. With interest, mood, pen and ink, Li Liufang's works have a unique attraction.
Dong Qichang, a famous calligrapher and painter at the end of the Ming Dynasty, especially liked Li Liufang's works, and he admitted that he was not as accomplished as Li Liufang in sketching. It seems that Dong Qichang is also self-aware. When Li Liufang painted this group of works, he showed his understanding of sketching. Pen and ink are interesting outside of it, but you can't ignore the pen and ink technique.
Many people do not know the "landscape spectrum" in the "Mustard Garden Painting Notation", the earliest is Li Liufang's apprentice painting draft. That is to say, as long as they have copied the "Mustard Garden Landscape Spectrum", they are all students of Li Liufang. Knowing this, looking at Li Liufang's landscape paintings again, does it feel very familiar?
The character is high, the painting is high, paying tribute to Ni Zhan, the painting reveals a bone-piercing chill. Refine the technique and leave the drawings for the benefit of future generations. Which is the real Li Liufang? After Li Liufang traveled in various directions after middle age, he painted different feelings into his works. True feelings are the real Li Liufang. Excellent literati painters, by expressing emotions, can form different painting styles.