Cultural Affairs Bureau
An array of Chinese painting schools emerged in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Some followed the steps of ancient masters, while others sought to innovate. Since its establishment, the Macao Museum of Art (MAM) has been keen on sorting through and displaying Chinese calligraphy works and paintings from both dynasties. It has featured works by Bada Shanren and Shitao – who together with Hong Ren and Kun Can were hailed as the ‘Four Monks’ during the early Qing dynasty – and by the ‘Four Wangs’, namely, Wang Shiming, Wang Jian, Wang Yuanqi and Wang Hui. These exhibitions were accompanied by symposia covering historical context and research on calligraphy and painting from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which were led by scholars from home and abroad.
Yun Shouping, a native of Wujin County, Jiangsu Province, is a renowned painter from the Qing dynasty. In his early years, he was engaged in landscape paintings that delivered refreshing and refined brushwork and serene imagery. Later, he shifted his focus to bird-and-flower paintings that highlighted realist depictions. He developed the unique ‘boneless’ (mogu) flower painting technique, which is characterised by rendering imagery in washes of colours with unrestrained and graceful brushwork. He paid attention to the likeness of form yet sought to transcend naturalistic shapes while also capturing the moods and style of literati paintings. Besides, his extraordinary landscapes demonstrated his artistic achievements with their appealing manner and visual pleasure, earning him recognition as one of the ‘Six Masters of the early qing period’ alongside the ‘Four Wangs’ and Wu Li. Yun also excelled at poetry and calligraphy, with his poetry being acclaimed as the best among the ‘Six Scholars of Piling’.
This autumn, the MAM again joins efforts with the Palace Museum and the Shanghai Museum to present Yun Shouping: Paintings and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum and the Shanghai Museum. The exhibition features masterpieces ranging from Yun’s unprecedented flower paintings from life to his ethereal landscapes and calligraphy works that showcase his distinctive calligraphic style known as the ‘Yun style’. The exhibition is organised into three sections: ‘Masterpieces – Craftsmanship Beyond Nature’, ‘Disciples and Successors’ and ‘Fellow Artists’. Also on display are artworks by Yun’s friends, family members and disciples. Exhibits of note include works by masters such as Wang Shiming, Wang Hui and Zha Shibiao. These artworks have been sorted through to offer an invaluable glimpse of superb craftsmanship.
Yun expressed his refined character and the literati’s dignity through his superb painting techniques. He vividly interpreted the aesthetic principles of traditional Chinese painting, representing the virtues of kindness and integrity, personifying objects as metaphors of morality, focusing on style and charm, and highlighting a painter’s temperament and character. The traditional Chinese artistic spirit conveyed in these paintings – kindness and integrity, captivating depictions, poetic imagery, aesthetics that appeal to refined and popular tastes, and visual pleasure delivered by the brushwork – is worthy of inspection and reflection.
On behalf of the Macao SAR Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, I would like to express my gratitude to the Palace Museum and the Shanghai Museum for supporting Macao’s cultural development. In the future, we shall continue to enhance our cooperation to present more remarkable artworks to the public, enrich their artistic appreciation, and promote our country’s fine cultural traditions.
I wish the exhibition great success!
Deland, Leong Wai Man
President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government