Landscape

Artists

Description

Three rocky land masses rise from the water, with a hint of mist surrounding the distant peak. An air of isolation, perhaps desolation, emerges from trees rendered with deliberate naïveté. The simple depictions of buildings convey honesty and integrity. The artist concludes her inscription with “Chu-tsing, my venerable brother, asked me to imitate the old style.” The first part of the inscription, however, expresses the dilemma of combining tradition with experimentation: “Some think bringing forth new ideas is good; others think relying on the past is good. I sing a new melody, but use the old tone. Am I neither here nor there?” Trained in Beijing by artists of the former Manchu court, Zeng mastered the classical tradition in both technique and spirit. After moving to Honolulu in 1949, she began to experiment with Western abstract painting and developed a distinctive modern style. This work, as the inscription indicates, is an attempt to capture the spirit of a traditional ink painting.

Dimensions

painting proper: 56 x 43.4 cm (22 1/16 x 17 1/16 in.) full mounting: 118.3 x 52.9 cm (46 9/16 x 20 13/16 in.)

Provenance

Zeng Youhe, Honolulu, probably 1980s, gift; to Chu-tsing Li, Lawrence, Kansas (1964-2012), gift; to his son B U.K. Li, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2012-2015), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2015. Footnotes: 1. Dr. Chu-tsing Li (1920-2014)