Ali Mountain Based on Sketches - 5 / Chang Ku-nien

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Record Details

Accession Number
2006/1.140
Title
Ali Mountain Based on Sketches - 5
Artist
Chang Ku-nien
Artist Nationality
Chinese
Artist Life Dates
(Shanghai, China, 1906 - 1987, Flint, Michigan)
Medium and Support
hanging scroll, ink on paper
Object Creation Date
1965
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
Taiwan (nation)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
Taiwan (nation)
Dimensions
173 cm x 93.5 cm (68 1/8 in. x 36 13/16 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Painting
Primary Object Type
hanging scroll
Secondary Object Classification
Painting
Secondary Object Type
landscape
Physical Description
One of six hanging scrolls in a series depicting the landscape of Ali Mountain, trees and hillside are shown below calligraphic text. The artist uses alternating wet ink washes for the misty clouds and dry flying-brushes for the large pine trees
Subject Matter
Located in middle-Taiwan, the Ali Mountain is one of the most famous scenic landmarks among Taiwan’s National Parks. Ali Mountain is best known for the beauty of the vast “cloud sea” surrounding the mountain peaks and the towering “divine giant trees” found amid the ridges and valley of the mountain.
The painting’s format, a traditional mounting style called “the screen of connected scenes” or “sea curtain”, gives the artist the advantage of representing a panoramic view of monumental landscapes. Each of six individual pieces was first painted on the ground in the artist’s studio with an overall composition envisioned in the artist’s mind. Then, the inscriptions were added on the top, (inscribed by the artist himself in this case), and finally the six paintings were mounted into the current format.
Inscribed is a piece of classic Song lyrics (the most popular in the Song dynasty), written in calligraphy style running script. The poetic lines describe a forested mountain filled with vigorous energies. Yet the atmosphere is melancholic. The vast landscape appears dream-like, symbolically representing the lost homeland of Chang and his peer generation-- mainland China-- that awaits its recovery from the Chinese Communists. The inscription thus connects the painting’s otherwise natural scenery to the advocated political theme of the Nationalist government’s rule in Taiwan in 1960s.
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Technical Details

Record
2006/1.140
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2006-sl-1.140/2006_1_140.jpg

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"Ali Mountain Based on Sketches - 5; Chang Ku-nien." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2006-sl-1.140/2006_1_140.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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