Introduction
Showcasing 120 works of Xin An School, including paintings by renowned masters such as Jian Jiang, Zha Shibiao, Da Benxiao, and Cheng Sui from the late Ming and early Qing period, the exhibition aims to present a panorama of the calligraphy and painting circles of the time in Anhui region.
1. ELITES OF THE SCHOOL
Many other eminent painters of Anhui origin either had master-apprentice relationships with the Eight Masters of Xin An or were influenced by their painting style. For example, Yao Song, Zhu Chang, Huang Lü were apprentices of Jian Jiang; He Wenhuang, among others, was under the guidance of Zha Shibiao, while Zhang Ru was deeply impressed by Jiang Zhu, and Cheng Ming made reference to Cheng Sui’s style. In addition, the monk painter Xue Zhuang – who sojourned on Mt. Huangshan for a long period of time and his paintings were so famous that he was summoned by Emperor Kangxi – was another notable painter apart from the Eight Masters of Xin An. He influenced Monk Yi Zhi, among others. It was this group of painters who built the glorious days of the Xin An painting school during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
2. EIGHT MASTERS OF XIN AN
In Guochao Huazheng Lu by Zhang Geng, the four famous painters Jian Jiang, Zha Shibiao, Sun Yi and Wang Zhirui were placed in the same line by Zhang and collectively known as the ‘Four Masters’. The designation reflected the origins and artistic style shared by the four painters within the group of Xin An school painters. However, there were many other high-level painters of varying styles. Thus, it was expanded to incorporate four more painters – Cheng Sui, Dai Benxiao, Zheng Min and Jiang Zhu – who shared equal artistic standards, representing a more complete painting circle of that time.
3. PIONEERS, SUCCESSORS, PEERS
Like all other schools of art, the Xin An school was by no means independent from the influence of historical development and aesthetic interests of the times, while its artistic style was carried forward and further developed by various successors.
* PIONEERS − Long before Jian Jiang, the Xin An painters had revered Ni Zan and Huang Gongwang as the orthodox school. Followers such as Wang Zhao, Zhan Jingfeng and Li Liufang were the most notable and honoured.
* SUCCESSORS − The moral integrity of the Ming loyalists shaped the distinctive style of the Xin An school of painting highlighted by elegance and indifference coupled with tranquil and desolate settings and imagery. During the mid-Qing Dynasty, political stability and economic prosperity resulted in more liberal and dynamic brushwork. Xin An painters – including Fang Shishu, Ye Hao, Wang Shitong, among others – followed the Huizhou merchants to settle down in Yangzhou, who subsequently played a vital role in promoting the development of art in China.
* PEERS − Fellow painters who had close connections with the Xin An painters were Xiao Congyun, Fang Yizhi, Mei Qing and Gong Xian. They frequently shared the doctrines of painting with Jian Jiang, Zha Shibiao and other Xin An painters.