Thousand Trees on Azure Peaks in the Style of Dong Yuan

清朝1668年  王鑑 雲山柴門翠峰圖軸 紙本設色

As a minor scholar-official and artist serving the Manchu Qing court, Wang Jian was famous for his enchanting and refined landscapes, inhabited only sparsely by human figures. This painting embodies the idealized image of mountain seclusion developed by early masters: in the foreground, two men sit alone by themselves—one in a thatched house near a crude bridge, and the other hidden behind rocky hills in a cottage among trees.

The layout, opening with a zigzagging body of water flowing upwards into narrow streams that gradually blend into white clouds, was thoughtfully arranged by Wang to convey the vast scale of nature. He used soft strokes and dark dots to depict the curving ranges of overlapping hills, reflecting a brush technique established by the old masters during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The untouched areas that effectively form white clouds floating around mountain valleys are also characteristic of a classical scholarly style.