Landscape, One of a Set of Ten

While they are not exceptionally original, the paintings in this series of album leaves show the hand of an accomplished artist working in the accepted styles of the late Ming scholar gentry. The artist, Xiang Shengmo was born to a wealthy and influential family. His grandfather had perhaps the largest collection of Chinese paintings of his time, which served as an attraction to major painters and art theorists. It is perhaps inevitable that Xiang's paintings epitomized the styles advocated by these same theorists. The Xiang family fortune was lost during the fall of the Ming dynasty, and Shengmo spent his last years in a state of poverty. This series was done during those years.