Clouded Mountains

Artist Chang Dai-chien (Zhang Daqian; Chinese, 1899 - 1983)

Date1970

MaterialsInk on paper

DimensionsFramed: H. 59 1/8 in × W. 83 7/16 in × D. 1 1/4 in (150.2 cm × 211.9 cm × 3.2 cm)
Image: H. 58 1/8 in × W. 82 7/16 in (147.6 cm × 209.4 cm)

Credit LineGift of the artist

Object numberB73D3

DepartmentChinese Art

ClassificationsPainting

On View

Not on view

Signed“三千”（白文方印）、“大千父”（朱文方印）、“一切惟心造”（朱文方印）、“大風堂”（朱文方印）。 Sanqian (square intaglio), Daqian fu (square relief), yiqie wei xin zao (square relief), Dafengtang (square relief).

Inscribed“ ‘老夫夜半清興發，驚起妻兒睡夢間。翻倒墨池收不住，夏雲湧出一天山。’ 五十九年庚戌歲八月五亭湖上寫，爰翁。” ‘I suddenly got inspired at midnight, startling my wife and children from their dreams. The ink container overturned and ink ran out of control, but a celestial mountain rapidly emerged from the summer clouds.’ Painted by the old man Yuan on the Five-Pavilion Lake, in the eighth lunar month of the gengxu year, or the 59th year (of the republican period).

More Information

This is one of Chang’s most amazing large-format splashed-ink paintings. Its trails of dynamic brush marks and unpredictable puddling and drips of ink effectively suggest a coastal mountain scene with clouds nestled into valleys, along with coves and cliffs at the water’s edge, an evocation of the natural environment in California. A masterful balancing act in which he simultaneously controls the media and lets the ink flow freely, it can be appreciated as an acknowledgment of the Buddhist understanding about the discipline of working with chaos.

The poetic inscription tells us that the work was painted after midnight. Indeed, Chang frequently woke up in the middle of the night and headed to his studio. In the inscription, his description of the freedom achieved by overturning his ink container not only provides a glimpse of his process but also reveals the clever mind and exuberant personality that attracted so many friends.