Listening to the Waterfall in a Valley of Pines
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The compactness of composition and the restless energy of this powerful work suggest inspiration from the late Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) master, Wang Meng (ca. 1308–1385). What gives it a modernist edge is, above all, the daring pointillist technique employed to characterize the rugged bluff to the left of the waterfall. Unlike anything in traditional Chinese painting, these rock formations are shaped solely by clusters of wet dots of varying tonalities. They recall the Impressionist feat of capturing light’s movements. Fu’s arbitrary application of the dots, however, reveals his Expressionist instincts.
Artwork Details
- Title: Listening to the Waterfall in a Valley of Pines
- Artist: Fu Baoshi (Chinese, 1904–1965)
- Date: dated 1945
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 41 5/16 x 23 5/8 in. (105 x 60 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by a private collection, New York
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art