Who Shen Hengji is, it is estimated that many people do not know. If you introduce him in another way, everyone will know. Shen Hengji was the father of the famous Ming Dynasty painter Shen Zhou, who was also a famous calligrapher and painter himself. The Shen family is a famous and prestigious family in Suzhou, and the Ming Dynasty literati's notes say, "(The Shen family) is full of tang laws and is good at painting things." Down to the servants, know the literature and ink. "Shen Hengji's heirloom works are not many, from the perspective of painting style, it is biased towards ink landscapes, and the pen and ink are thick and vigorous, full of indifference and harmony.
There is an interesting phenomenon in Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty, the literati who live a carefree life do not ask about the future, do not take the road, and are hidden in the city. They look for spiritual sustenance in the downtown area, and feel the cultivation of the heart in the red dust. Shen Hengji is a member of this group, and he emphasizes "heart concealment". Perhaps in his view, the real life of seclusion has nothing to do with the external environment, only with inner feelings.
Shen Hengji Mountain Residence Map
After understanding this background knowledge, I know why Shen Hengji painted "Mountain Residence Map". He wanted to paint his inner feelings and draw his spiritual home on paper. Enjoy a life without restraint, no matter where you are, you can feel the breath of natural mountains and forests, and you can experience the joy of returning to nature. In this way, no matter how much he beautifies the hermitage in his heart, it is not excessive.
"Mountain Residence Map" has a feeling of running, and there is also a feeling of desolation. The two seem contradictory, but they are unified by Shen Hengji in one painting. He seems to be able to use magic to show his inner feelings by using pen and color. The pure ink kung fu shows his practice in painting, and the "calm breath" that permeates the painting is his inner thought.
Shen Hengji Mountain residence map partial
Shen Hengji depicts the landscape of Jiangnan and the life of the literati, paying attention to the taste of pen and ink and integrating the poetic feelings of the literati. The peaceful picture has both soft dyeing and rigid lines. In his opinion, the literati can also condense their majestic momentum, and at this point he is stronger than Shen Zhou.
"Mountain Residence Map" has a problem in the composition, the picture is suspected to be incomplete, there is a feeling of abrupt stop, always feel that there is still space below the picture. This feeling is caused by the fact that good landscape paintings are indispensable in composition to pay attention to "starting and turning". The painting is top-heavy and unstable. Boldly guess, if Shen Hengji deliberately did it, then he wanted to show momentum, and the result was not successful.
Of course, a painting has shortcomings that can be understood. Also look at the pros. In the painting, the high mountain top stands on the ground and looks domineering and majestic. In order to express the texture of the mountain stone, the pen is used from thick to thin, the long hook becomes a short hook, and the dry pen sweeps over the painting paper to form a rigid and soft texture. These technical improvements and innovations were very inspiring to painters in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Including the Shen Zhou middle-aged change method, it is also related to this.
The dyeing in the painting is very clear, and you can feel the state of Shen Hengji's extreme confidence when he put down his pen. Thick ink dot moss with the method of burning ink to break the awakening, there is the shadow of the Yuan Dynasty painter Wang Meng. Various techniques can be used freely and freely, becoming Shen Hengji's own style.
Looking at the ink-colored landscape paintings, feeling the thick and light, the lighter and lighter ink color, I can't help but feel that Shen Hengji has pushed the theme of xinyin to a new height of creation.