Zhang Yin (1761-1829), Alone under the pines contemplating the waves

Zhang Yin is considered the most eminent representative of a group of painters who practiced in the city of Zhenjiang (formerly Jingjiang), in Jiangsu, between the end of the 18^e century and the first Opium War (1839-1842). Coming from a wealthy family connected with intellectuals and artists, Zhang Yin came into contact with the calligrapher Wang Wenzhi (1730-1802) and the painter Pan Gongshou (1741-1794). The latter familiarized him with the pictorial vocabulary of the Wu school. However, while Pan Gongshou particularly refers to Shen Zhou (1427-1509), Zhang Yin draws his inspiration from Wen Zhengming (1470-1559). Evidenced here by the meticulous rendering of foliage and waves as well as the use of colors.

Nanjing productions from the early Qing dynasty (1644-1912) also exerted a marked influence on Zhenjiang artists. Zhang Yin could also have borrowed from them the composition and the principle of the description of a large expanse of turbulent water, even if it is tempting to see in this motif an echo of his personal experience, his family having been ruined. by a flood. The poem and the presence of the man who contemplates the panorama sublimate this subject, which becomes, by contrast, an evocation of the calm of retreats in the mountains.

Cartel:

Zhang Yin (1761-1829)
Solitary under the pines gazing at the waves, 1820s
Ink and colors on paper
142,5x80,6 inch
CM 2008-17

Gift of the Society of Friends of the Cernuschi Museum, 2008