Summer Retreat / Xie Shichen (Hsieh Shih-ch'en)

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Record Details

Accession Number
1961/1.161
Title
Summer Retreat
Artist Nationality
Chinese
Artist Life Dates
1478- after 1567
Object Creation Date
mid 16th century
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
China (nation)
Jiangsu (province)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
China (nation)
Creation Place 3
Jiangsu (province)
Inscription
Inscription of the artist: Towering cilff, turbulent falls ruse from the flat ground; Lofty tower, hidden retreat leaning on the open heavens. Painted by Hsieh Shih-ch'en. Seal of the artist: Wu-men Hsieh Shih-ch'en t'u-shu chi; Additional Inscriptions and Seals: Unidentified: (seal) Chung-chou shih-chia, (label) Ming...(illegible).
Dimensions
141.92 cm x 72.39 cm (55 7/8 in. x 28 1/2 in.)
Century
16th century
Primary Object Classification
Painting
Primary Object Type
hanging scroll
Secondary Object Classification
Painting
Secondary Object Type
landscape
Physical Description
This is a very dense landscape painting. There are waterfalls, clouds, trees and cliffs present in the painting. The colors consist of muted greens and browns. Towards the lower half of the painting, there is a view of an interior with four figures present, three of which are sitting at a low table. There is a staircase on the lower right, with a man standing on it, looking upwards. There is also a house on a cliff towards the upper right of the painting. There is calligraphy in the upper right hand corner, with a red seal. There is another red seal, although a bit faded, in the lower left corner of the image.
Subject Matter
A close look at this work reveals two distinct approaches to/styles/modes of painting: one,a realistic depiction of figures and architectural details and the other a freer rendering of rocks and trees. In addition the composition has multiple focal points, each illustrating a distinct/different summer activity. These self-contained and independent narratives seem to convey a lack of concern with unifying/reinforce a sense of disunity among the many elements of the painting. Nonetheless, the skill the artist displays in depicting detail results in an appealingly complex, if perhaps unbalanced, work.
The [combination/use of disparate painting styles in this work may be] due to the fact that Xie Shichen was a Suzhou artist whose painting emulated characteristics of both the professional Zhe School and literati (non-professional artist) Wu School, between which existed a simmering/an incipient artistic rivalry in the early sixteenth century. The Zhe school painters were traditionally associated with the government bureacracy, and often obtained commissions to decorate its buildings [style characterized by]. Wu school painters, who were free from political obligations and constraints, were adept at calligraphy and poetry. Though the styles of these two rival schools became polarized and were rarely combined during the second half of the century, before this they coexisted, as exemplified in this work.
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Technical Details

Image Size
759 x 1439
File Size
90 KB
Record
1961/1.161
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1961-sl-1.161/1961_1.161.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1961-SL-1.161:1961_1.161.JPG

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"Summer Retreat; Xie Shichen (Hsieh Shih-ch'en)." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1961-sl-1.161/1961_1.161.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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