Sheng Maoye 盛茂燁 (Chinese, active 17th century) 盛茂燁（
Figural landscape Ink and colours on paper, mounted, framed and glazed Inscribed with a poem and signed, with a seal of the artist Inscriptions on the reverse of the frame Accompanied by letter from Dr. Roderick Whitfield ?????? ???? ??? ??? ????????????????? ??? ?????????? ????? ?????·??????Dr. Roderick Whitfield??????? Size:(27cm x 28cm, the frame 43.6cm x 46cm) Qty: (1) Provenance: Collection of Lee Tai Hao, Bangkok, gifted to; G. E. Graham, thence by descent to; British private collection, London ???? ?????????????? G. E. ??????????????? ???????? Notes: A native of Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Sheng Maoye was also known as Nian'an (??) and an accomplished professional landscape painter active during the closing decades of the Ming dynasty. Although biographical details remain scarce, surviving dated works indicate that he flourished between 1607 and 1637, working within the sophisticated artistic environment of late Ming in Suzhou, where the traditions of the Wu School remained highly influential. His paintings demonstrate a thorough understanding of earlier Song and Yuan landscape painting masters, particularly Guo Xi, Li Tang and Huang Gongwang, whose compositions he frequently emulated through the established practice of fang (painting "after" an earlier master). Sheng Maoye specialised in lyrical ink landscapes distinguished by their restrained palette, subtle brushwork. Veils of mist, secluded pavilions and distant mountain vistas recur throughout his oeuvre, conveying the poetic ideal of reclusion that appealed to the educated elite of late Ming dynasty. Many of his surviving paintings are inspired by Tang dynasty poetry, in which landscape functions as a visual expression of literary sentiment rather than a record of a specific locality. His refined treatment of weather, light and spatial recession places him among the most accomplished professional painters of seventeenth-century Suzhou and anticipates the atmospheric monochrome landscapes favoured by painters of the early Qing period. Examples of Sheng Maoye's work are preserved in several important public collections, attesting to his significance within the late Ming landscape tradition. Notable examples include Landscapes after Tang-dynasty Poems, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 69.242.1–.6; Mountain Landscape, dated 1636, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, acc. no. EAX.1303; Lonely Retreat Overlooking a Misty Valley, dated 1630, Cleveland Museum of Art, accession no. 1961.88; Evening View of Lake Shi, British Museum, accession no. 1979,0129,0.5.1; a landscape work in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, object no. 40-37. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????1607???????1637????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????69.242.1–.6???????????????????????????1636?????????EAX.1303???????????????????????????1630?????????1961.88???????????????????????1979,0129,0.5.1???????-????????????????????????40-37??
[ translate ]Figural landscape Ink and colours on paper, mounted, framed and glazed Inscribed with a poem and signed, with a seal of the artist Inscriptions on the reverse of the frame Accompanied by letter from Dr. Roderick Whitfield ?????? ???? ??? ??? ????????????????? ??? ?????????? ????? ?????·??????Dr. Roderick Whitfield??????? Size:(27cm x 28cm, the frame 43.6cm x 46cm) Qty: (1) Provenance: Collection of Lee Tai Hao, Bangkok, gifted to; G. E. Graham, thence by descent to; British private collection, London ???? ?????????????? G. E. ??????????????? ???????? Notes: A native of Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Sheng Maoye was also known as Nian'an (??) and an accomplished professional landscape painter active during the closing decades of the Ming dynasty. Although biographical details remain scarce, surviving dated works indicate that he flourished between 1607 and 1637, working within the sophisticated artistic environment of late Ming in Suzhou, where the traditions of the Wu School remained highly influential. His paintings demonstrate a thorough understanding of earlier Song and Yuan landscape painting masters, particularly Guo Xi, Li Tang and Huang Gongwang, whose compositions he frequently emulated through the established practice of fang (painting "after" an earlier master). Sheng Maoye specialised in lyrical ink landscapes distinguished by their restrained palette, subtle brushwork. Veils of mist, secluded pavilions and distant mountain vistas recur throughout his oeuvre, conveying the poetic ideal of reclusion that appealed to the educated elite of late Ming dynasty. Many of his surviving paintings are inspired by Tang dynasty poetry, in which landscape functions as a visual expression of literary sentiment rather than a record of a specific locality. His refined treatment of weather, light and spatial recession places him among the most accomplished professional painters of seventeenth-century Suzhou and anticipates the atmospheric monochrome landscapes favoured by painters of the early Qing period. Examples of Sheng Maoye's work are preserved in several important public collections, attesting to his significance within the late Ming landscape tradition. Notable examples include Landscapes after Tang-dynasty Poems, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 69.242.1–.6; Mountain Landscape, dated 1636, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, acc. no. EAX.1303; Lonely Retreat Overlooking a Misty Valley, dated 1630, Cleveland Museum of Art, accession no. 1961.88; Evening View of Lake Shi, British Museum, accession no. 1979,0129,0.5.1; a landscape work in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, object no. 40-37. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????1607???????1637????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????69.242.1–.6???????????????????????????1636?????????EAX.1303???????????????????????????1630?????????1961.88???????????????????????1979,0129,0.5.1???????-????????????????????????40-37??
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