Riverside Retreat c. 1250
xiasen
minneapolisinstituteofart
color-on-silk, ink
shading
pencil drawn
toned paper
light pencil work
color-on-silk
pencil sketch
charcoal drawing
possibly oil pastel
ink
underpainting
china
tonal art
watercolor
"Riverside Retreat," a handscroll painting created by Xia Sen around 1250, portrays a serene landscape. The scene is dominated by a winding river flowing past a small dwelling nestled amidst lush trees. In the distance, a mountain range rises up, while a lone figure in a boat adds a touch of solitude to the composition. This artwork showcases the artist's masterful use of ink and brushwork, evoking a sense of tranquility and harmony typical of Song dynasty landscape painting. The "Riverside Retreat" is a stunning example of the delicate beauty and meditative qualities found in Chinese ink painting.
Comments
This fan painting is signed Xia Sen on the earthen bank just below and to the right of the roots of the large tree extending from the left margin of the picture. Born the son of the famous academy painter Xia Gui (c. early 1200s), Xia Sen continued his father’s innovative style. The intimate, focused view of nature, clearly rendered motifs, low-angle perspective, and evocation of a coherent space are all characteristics of the painting circle of Xia Gui. The compositional emphasis of one side of the picture over the other creates pictorial tension and interest. This so-called “one-corner” composition, in which the subjects of the painting are pushed to a corner or a side, attributed to Ma Yuan (late 12th–early 13th century) and Xia Gui, came to characterize Southern Song academy painting, and the device was practiced by a wide variety of contemporary artists.
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