Nine Songs

1361

Zhang Wo

Zhang Wo (Chinese, active c.1336–after 1364)

Chinese Art

Nine Songs, 1361. Zhang Wo (Chinese, active c.1336–after 1364), and Chu Huan (Chinese, active 1361). Handscroll, ink on paper; overall: 28 x 438.2 cm (11 x 172 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1959.138

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Zhang Wo
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: handscroll, ink on paper
Medium: handscroll, ink, paper
Dimensions: Overall: 28 x 438.2 cm (11 x 172 1/2 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: 7 colophons and 47 seals: 1 colophon, dated 1361, and 28 seals of Chu Huan 褚奐 (active c. 1361); 1 colophon, dated 1785, and 1 seal of Lu Shihua 陸時化 (1714-1779); 2 seals of Lu Yü-ch'ing (18th c.); 1 colophon, dated 1935, of Ye Gongchuo 葉恭綽 (1881-1968); 1 colophon, dated 1935, of Wu Hufan 吳湖帆(1894–1968); 1 colophon, dated 1938, and 1 seal of Wang Tongyu 王同愈 (1856-1941); 1 colophon, dated 1941, of Wu Huayuan 吳華源 (1893-1972); 1 colophon, dated 1942, and 9 seals of Xu Bangda 徐邦達 (1911–2012); 1 colophon, dated 1942, of Lang Jingshan 郎靜山 (1892-1995); 1 colophon, dated 1944, of Tang Yun 唐雲 (1910-1993); 6 seals of Wang Jiqian [C.C. Wang] 王季遷 (1907–2003). Inscription: Text of The Nine Songs written by Chu Huan at the end of each section. Inscription: 右離騷九歌圖，宋龍溟居士李公本，淮南張渥叔厚所畫妙絕當世。家藏請予書其辭目識于左。至正二十一年辛醜三月旦河南褚奐記。 Translation: Colophon and 3 seals by Chu Huan 褚奐: In the foregoing is The Nine Songs from Li-sao based on the original of Long ming ju shi [Li Gonglin] and painted by Zhang Wo, t. Shuhou of Huainan. The painting is a wonder unsurpassed in our time. It has been in the family collection of ... who has asked me to write the text. I therefore recorded this as above. Noted by Chu Huan of Henan on the first day of the third month of the xin chou year, the twenty-first year of the Zhizheng era [1361]. [3 seals] Chu Huan; Shi wen fu yin; Shi xue zhai. Inscription: Colophon by Lu Shihua 陸時化 (1714–1789): This scroll is fortunate to have been handed down from collections of the right people. Now, after 500 years, its condition is as good as when it was painted. I acquired this from Mr. Shen Guiyu [1673-1769], the President of the Board of Rites. The label is in his handwriting when he was 95 years old. I submit that Chu Huan (t. Shiwen) of the Yuan Dynasty was a native of Qiantang. His "seal" and li writings are in the style of Wu Rui. For example, in [Chu Kuei's] Ming ji lu [A list of masterpieces] is recorded the stele commemorating the restoration of the prefectural school of Kun-shan, the text of which was composed by Yang Weizhen in the twenty-first year of Zhizheng [1361]; and the calligraphy as well as the title in li style was by Chu Huan, who was at that time an assistant judge of the prefecture of Haining in the circuit of Hangzhou. Zhang Wo's zi is Shuhou (叔厚). His literary name is Zhen Qisheng (贞期生). According to [Gu Ying's] Yu shan cao tang ya jii, he liked to paint in the bai-miao or the "pure delineation" style after the method of Li Longmian [Li Gonglin 李公麟], which finds no peer among the ancient masters. This is agreed upon [by Pei Ch'iung] in his Qing jiang zhi who praised [Zhang Wo] as being quite learned and well-versed in many branches of the arts, especially figure painting. Recorded by Lu Shihua [The mountain dweller], listening to the pine, in the twelfth month of the yisi year [1785].
Departments: Chinese Art
Accession Number: 1959.138
Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Exhibitions: 1000 Jahre Chinesische Malerei, The Colors of Ink, Chinese Paintings: Themes and Techniques, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection, The Art of Fu Baoshi (1904 - 1965), Masterpieces of Early Chinese Painting and Calligraphy in American Collections, Chiao-yü-pu. [Jiao yu bu di er ci quan guo mei shu zhan lan hui zhuan ji = 敎育部第二次全國美術展覽會專集 = A special collection of the second National Exhibition of Chinese Art under the auspices of the Ministry of Education]. Nanking Art Gallery, Nanjing, China (April 1-23, 1937)., Mostra D'arte Cinese. Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Italy (1954)., Chinese Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1960)., Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yüan Dynasty, 1279-1368. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 24, 1968), Realm of the Immortals: Daoism in the Arts of China. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 10-April 10, 1988)., Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 122). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 27, 2003-March 10, 2004).
Rights Statement: CC0