Exalted Gathering in the Green Woods

This rare portrait of a literary gathering depicts Dong Qichang (1555-1636), one of the most important personalities in the history of Chinese art, at the far right. Next to him stands his close friend Chen Jiru (1558-1639). To the left of Chen, the scholars Wang Chideng (1535-1612), Zhang Fengyi (1550-1636), and Yan Tianchi (17th century) are shown playing the qin. Zhao Yiguang (1559-1625) and Chuhong (1535-1615) appear to the left of them. These historic figures epitomize the literati ideal and defined Ming literati tastes through their activities. They were all trained in Confucian classics, some served the state as scholar officials, and all played the reclusive role of retired gentlemen. Sensitive to literati pictorial taste, the painter used muted colors and exhibited a variety of brush strokes and a naïve sense of space. The title colophon, composed of five beautifully balanced characters, is signed by Dong himself. There are seven attached colophons ranging in date from 1762 to the early twentieth century.