Companions in Solitude: Reclusion and Communion in Chinese Art at The Met Fifth Avenue

 

Scholar's rock 清康熙 靈璧賞石
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Kangxi period (1662–1722)
Gift of Richard Rosenblum Family, 2009
2009.512.1a, b
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 
 

Companions in Solitude

Reclusion and Communion in Chinese Art

July 31, 2021 — August 14, 2022

 

This exhibition will explore the twin themes of solitude and togetherness in Chinese art. For more than two thousand years, reclusion—removing oneself from society—has been presented as the ideal condition for mental cultivation and transcending worldly troubles. At the same time, communion with like-minded people has been celebrated as essential to the human experience. This choice, to be alone or to be together, has been central to the lives of thinkers and artists, and Chinese art abounds with images of figures who pursued both paths—as well as those who wove them together in complex and surprising ways.

Companions in Solitude, presented in two rotations, will bring together more than 120 works of painting, calligraphy, and decorative arts that illuminate this choice—depictions of why and how people have sought space from the world or attempted to bridge the divide between themselves and others. In the wake of 2020, a year that has isolated us physically but connected us virtually in unprecedented ways, this exploration of premodern Chinese reclusion and communion will invite meditation on the fracture and facture of human connection in our own time.

 
 
 

Exhibition Highlights

 

Landscape 明 陳洪綬 山水圖 扇
Chen Hongshou (Chinese, 1598–1652)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Mid-17th century
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
1989.363.126
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wangchuan Villa 明 佚名 郭忠恕 僞款 輞川圖 卷
Unidentified artist, 16th century
In the Style of Guo Zhongshu (Chinese, died 977)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
16th–17th century
John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913
13.220.5
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Snowy landscape with rustic riverside retreat 南宋 傳 劉松年 溪山雪意圖 卷
Attributed to Liu Songnian (Chinese, active ca. 1150–1225)
Traditionally attributed to Gao Keming (ca 1000–1053)
Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
ca. late 12th century
Gift of John M. Crawford Jr., 1984
1984.274
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Illustration of Su Shi's "Second Ode on the Red Cliff" 元/明 佚名 舊傳趙雍 倣盛懋 蘇軾後赤壁賦圖 團扇 元/明 佚名 後赤壁賦圖 扇
Unidentified artist, late 14th–early 15th century. Formerly attributed to Zhao Yong (Chinese, 1289–after 1360). In the style of Sheng Mao (Chinese, active ca. 1310–1360). 
Yuan (1271–1368)–Ming (1368–1644) dynasty.
Late 14th–early 15th century.
John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913
13.100.97
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Li Bai gazing at the waterfall on Mount Lu 明 鍾禮 觀瀑圖 軸
Zhong Li (Chinese, active ca. 1480–1500)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Late 15th century
From the P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Family Collection, Gift of Oscar L. Tang, 1991
1991.438.4
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Winter landscape with fisherman 明 史忠 雪景山水圖 軸
Shi Zhong (Chinese, 1438–after 1506)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Late 15th–early 16th century
Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of C. C. Wang, in honor of Wen C. Fong, 2000
2000.664
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Autumn Colors among Streams and Mountains 明 沈周 溪山秋色圖 卷 明 沈周 溪山秋色圖 卷明 楷書溪山秋色圖 引首
Shen Zhou (Chinese, 1427–1509)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
ca. 1490–1500
Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1979
1979.75.1
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Winter landscape 明 傳蔣嵩 冬景山水圖 卷
Attributed to Jiang Song (Chinese, first half of 16th century)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
First half of 16th century
Seymour Fund, 1955
55.124
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Summer retreat in the eastern grove 明 文徵明 東林避暑圖 卷
Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470–1559)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Calligraphy datable to 1512
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
1989.363.60
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Whiling Away the Summer at the Ink-Well Thatched Hut 清 吳歷 墨井草堂消夏圖 卷
Wu Li (Chinese, 1632–1718)
Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
1679
Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Purchase, Douglas Dillon Gift, 1977
1977.81
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scholar-recluse in blue-green landscape 明 陳洪綬 樹下高士圖 軸
Chen Hongshou (Chinese, 1598–1652)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
1633
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse, 1972
1972.278.1
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Returning Fishermen 元 唐棣 松溪歸漁圖 軸
Tang Di (Chinese, ca. 1287–1355)
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Dated 1342
Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Purchase, Bequest of Joseph H. Durkee, by exchange, 1973
1973.121.5
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rock, Tiger Lily and Orchid 明 佚名 仿趙文俶 萱石圖 軸
Unidentified artist
After Zhao Wenchu (Chinese, 1595–1654)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Dated 1627
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
1989.363.125
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Drunk in Autumn Woods 清 石濤 (朱若極) 秋林人醉圖 軸 紙本
Shitao (Zhu Ruoji) (Chinese, 1642–1707)
Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
ca. 1702
Gift of John M. Crawford Jr., 1987
1987.202
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Garden of the Inept Administrator 明 文徵明 拙政園圖詩 冊
Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470–1559)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
1551
Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1979
1979.458.1a–ii
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion 明 錢榖 蘭亭修禊圖 卷
Qian Gu (Chinese, 1508–ca. 1578)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
1560
Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1980
1980.80
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Landscape dedicated to Xiang Yuanbian 明 文嘉 為項元汴作山水圖 軸
Wen Jia (Chinese, 1501–1583)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Dated 1578
Edward Elliott Family Collection, Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1981
1981.285.9
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dwelling among mountains and clouds 清 倣龔賢 雲山隱居圖 軸
Attributed to Gong Xian (Chinese, 1619–1689)
Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
17th century
Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1983
1983.609
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Drinking and Composing Poetry 明 姚綬 文飲圖 卷
Yao Shou (Chinese, 1423–1495)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
1485
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
1989.363.44
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vase with scholars in a garden 清康熙 景德鎮窯青花庭院高士圖瓶
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Kangxi period (1662–1722)
Late 17th–early 18th century
Purchase by subscription, 1879
79.2.295
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vase with equestrian figure in landscape 清順治 景德鎮窯青花高士出行圖瓶
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Shunzhi (1644–61) period
Mid-17th century
Rogers Fund, 1918
17.200
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Planting Chrysanthemums 明 陸治 種菊圖 軸
Lu Zhi (Chinese, 1495–1576)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
16th century
Edward Elliott Family Collection, Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1986
1986.266.3
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Censer with figures in landscape 清康熙 景德鎮窯青花山水人物圖香爐
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Kangxi period (1662–1722)
1707
Gift of Julia and John Curtis, 2015
2015.302
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brush holder with scene of Wang Qing crossing the river from The Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan) 明末清初 景德鎮窯青花水滸故事圖筆筒
Ming (1368–1644) or Qing (1644–1911) dynasty
Dated 1636 or 1696
Gift of Julia and John Curtis, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2020
2020.73.5
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art