Page 26 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE AMERICAN FAMILY 美國私人收藏
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WEN SHU (1595-1634) 明 文俶 花蝶清影 設色紙本 鏡片 一六三二年作
Flowers and Butterfies 款識：壬申（1632年）夏清和月，天水趙氏文俶畫。
鈐印：文俶之印、端容
Scroll, mounted for framing, ink and color on paper
34 x 17 in. (86.4 x 43.2 cm.) 乾隆帝（1711-1799）鑑藏印：宜子孫、乾隆鑑賞、石渠寶笈
張若靄（1713-1746）鑑藏印：張晴嵐書畫記
Inscribed and signed, with two seals of the artist
Eight collectors’ seals, including three of Emperor Qianlong (1711- 張可園（晚清）鑑藏印：南皮張氏可園收藏庚壬兩劫所餘之一
曾燠（1759-1830）鑑藏印：曾氏賓谷珍藏
1799), one of Zhang Ruo’ai (1713-1746), one of Zhang Keyuan (late
Qing dynasty), and one of Ceng Yu (1759-1830) 來源：現藏者之家屬於1940年代於日本購得作品。
Dated summer, renshen year (1632)
$50,000-100,000

PROVENANCE
Acquired in Japan in the mid-1940s and thence by descent.

As one of the most important female painters in Chinese art history, Wen Shu’s (1595-1634) prestigious family lineage further elevates her above
her peers. For generations, the Wen family were active participants and sometimes leaders in the arts, literature, collecting, and connoisseurship
in their home town Suzhou, the cultural capital of China at the time. She was a descendant of the famed calligrapher Wen Lin (1445-1499),
whose wife was known for her bamboo paintings. They were the parents of arguably the most infuential artist in the early sixteenth century, Wen
Zhengming (1470-1559). Her father Wen Congjian (1574-1648) enjoyed modest fame for his landscapes; and her brother Wen Ran (1596-1667)
was also a landscape painter and calligrapher. Her status was further enhanced when she married Zhao Jun, a scion of the Song dynasty (960-1279)
imperial family and a progeny of the most famous painter and statesman of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368)—Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322).
However, Wen Shu’s own artistic talent has earned her respect and recognition beyond being merely a well-born, well-married lady. As her
husband’s family fortunes declined with the passing of her father-in-law, she apparently became a prolifc painter and sold her works to help the
troubled family fnances. Most of her works bear no dedication or inscription, indicating that they were most likely produced for commercial
purpose. Judging from her oeuvre, she clearly favored fowers, butterfies, and rocks as subjects. She was known to depict the rare fora and insects
native to Hanshan, an area of natural beauty where her husband’s family estate was located. In addition, Wen Shu also studied and copied the
one thousand botanical specimens pictured in the Bencao meteria medica, an ancient illustrated pharmacopoeia which was revised and expanded by
Li Shizhen (1518-1593). Under the title Bencao gangmu, this version was initially published in 1596 and had eight subsequent reprintings in the
seventeenth century due to its popularity. As Wen Shu became established as a prominent painter, she developed a following of married ladies and
young women who sought her out as a painting instructor.
In addition to Wen Shu’s two seals, this work also bears three of Emperor Qianlong’s (r. 1735-1796) collector’s seals and three of Qing dynasty
(1644-1911) collectors. Indeed, in the Qing dynasty imperial painting catalogue commissioned by Emperor Qianlong and detailing the imperial
collection of paintings and calligraphy, Shiqu baoji, there is an entry of Wen Shu’s work. However, it only states that “A ‘sketching-from-nature’
painting by an elegant lady of the Ming dynasty, Zhao Wen Shu,” with no description nor dimension. It should be noted that Emperor Qianlong
continued to acquire works of art after this frst edition of Shiqu baoji in 1745, thus not every work in his collection was included in this catalogue.
While it is impossible to know which one of Wen Shu’s paintings belonged to Emperor Qianlong’s collection, it is certain that he did collect her
work and held her in high esteem as she is called “an elegant lady of the Ming dynasty.”

作為中國歷史上最重要的女畫家之一，文俶（1595-1634）名門世族的出身令她在同輩中人中尤為脫穎而出。文氏家族世代以來，
在他們的家鄉蘇州——彼時中國的文化之都——活躍於藝術、文學、收藏及鑒賞等領域，並頗具一席之地。文淑是著名書法家文林
（1445-1499）的後人。文林之妻以畫竹聞名。文氏夫妻之子，文徵明（1470-1559），則可以稱得上是中國十六世紀初期最著名的
畫家。文俶的父親文從簡（1574-1548）以擅山水畫而小有名氣，而文淑的弟弟文柟（1596-1667）也是一名山水畫家與書法家。
文俶的藝術地位在她嫁與趙均後更為提升。趙均是宋代（960-1279）皇室後裔，也是元代（1279-1368）著名畫家與官員趙孟頫
（1254-1322）的子孫。
然而，是文俶自身的藝術天分與才能，為她贏得了遠超於一名家世顯赫，名門淑女的尊重與認知度。在她夫家因父親去世而家道中
落之時，文俶畫製了大量畫作，將其出售以度經濟難關。文俶的大多數作品並無贈言及題跋，極大程度上證明了這些作品的商業性
質。從文俶生平作品來判斷，她顯然喜愛以花草、蝴蝶及山石作繪畫主題。文俶與丈夫婚後居於位於江蘇吳縣的寒山中，這裡地景
自然貌美，文俶便以生動形象地描繪寒山自然界的幽花異卉、小蟲怪蝶而著稱畫壇。此外，文俶還孜孜不倦地悉心描摹了由明人李
時珍（1518-1593）編撰的本草學集大成之作《本草綱目》。《本草綱目》於萬曆二十三年（1596年）正式刊行，因其流行度廣，在
十七世紀時又先後重印八次。當文俶漸愈漸在畫壇取得一定地位時，已婚淑女與年輕閨秀爭相向其拜師學藝。
除了文俶的兩方鈐印之外，此副作品另有乾隆（在位1735-1796）皇帝鑒藏印三方，清代（1644-1911）藏家鑒藏印三方。事實上，
在清乾隆皇帝命大臣編撰的，記錄清代內府收藏的歷代珍貴書法與繪畫名蹟的專書《石渠寶笈》中，有一欄收錄文俶之作。然而，
書上卻只提及“明閨秀趙文俶寫生”，並無尺寸記錄或其他描述。值得注意的事，在1745年，《石渠寶笈》初版後，乾隆皇帝仍持
續收藏著藝術作品，所以並非乾隆的所有藏品都被囊括到了這份圖錄中。雖然具體文俶的哪一幅作品被乾隆收藏已不得而知，但我
們可以確定，乾隆帝確實藏有文俶作品，並稱她為“明代閨秀”，足見尊重喜愛之甚。

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