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Asian Art website: Luo-Fu Mountains
One of the geniuses of Chinese painting, Shitao was born a prince in the Ming imperial family. In the turmoil following the dynasty's fall in 1644, he became an itinerant monk. After 1696, he settled in the city of Yangzhou, where he spent his late years as a professional painter. Shitao's paintings of this period are characterized by fluid brushwork and by moist, graded ink-tones.
As Shitao never visited the Luo-Fu Mountains in Guangdong province, his illustrations are largely imaginative. Long hoping to tour these mountains, he was inspired to paint them in twelve album leaves. Each scene was accompanied by textual description drawn from travelogues, and each depiction relies heavily on natural observation. Additionally, certain compositional elements, methods of contouring and foliage dotting all suggest the artist also drew from his knowledge of woodblock illustrations. The only genuine paintings remaining from the original set are the museum's four album leaves: "Mica Peak," "Three Peaks of the Upper Realm," "Solitary Azure Peak," and "Penglai Peak."
As Shitao never visited the Luo-Fu Mountains in Guangdong province, his illustrations are largely imaginative. Long hoping to tour these mountains, he was inspired to paint them in twelve album leaves. Each scene was accompanied by textual description drawn from travelogues, and each depiction relies heavily on natural observation. Additionally, certain compositional elements, methods of contouring and foliage dotting all suggest the artist also drew from his knowledge of woodblock illustrations. The only genuine paintings remaining from the original set are the museum's four album leaves: "Mica Peak," "Three Peaks of the Upper Realm," "Solitary Azure Peak," and "Penglai Peak."
