A hundred masterpieces of ancient Chinese painting, produced by the masters of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, are exhibited for the first time in Europe at the Cernuschi museum in Paris until March 6. .
These black inks, sometimes enhanced with blue, green or pink pigments and framed with calligraphy painted on rolls of tissue paper, are “the equivalent for Europeans of the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance”, explains to AFP Eric Lefèbvre, director of the museum and curator of the exhibition with Maël Bellec.
A recurring theme, the landscapes are linked in large formats, hierarchized between sky and earth: from the ethereal peaks of the mountains to the deep crevices of the reliefs, on which leafy or thorny trees rise towards infinity or wind, tortuous, between waterfalls like reptiles, drawing their strength from a lake or a river. The characters are often represented in miniature, on a path or on a bridge.
These works of art were collected by collector Ho lu-kwong (1907-2006) before being offered to the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2018, co-organizer of the exhibition. Ho lu-kwong titled his collection Chih Lo Lou The pavilion of perfect bliss.
They bear witness to a key moment in Chinese history, between the mid-15th century and the beginning of the 18th century, a period marked by a “deep historical break and a dynastic alternation”, according to Eric Lefèbvre. Three centuries which trace the height and progressive weakening of the Ming, the capture of Beijing by rebels in 1644, the advance of the Manchu forces towards the south of the empire, and the establishment of the new Qing dynasty.
Entitled Painting out of the world, this trip follows the route of “literate” and Chinese monks, aspiring to retreat to forests and mountains to escape the uncertainties of mandarin life and the throes of the fall of the empire, “sacred places out of time where immortals stay, a sort of paradise for Taoists”, explains Eric Lefèbvre. Among these scholars, recruited by competition and trained from childhood, many refuse to pursue an official career, such as Shen Zhou (1427-1509), founder of the Wu school, and after him Wen Zhengming (1470-1559).
A new pictorial meaning is born from their brush like those of the famous monks Bada Shanren (1626-1705) and Shitao (1642-1707), both from the imperial Ming family and remained members of the Buddhist clergy for several decades before joining the world and live there from their painting.