17th century Ming dynasty artist, Lady Han Ximeng, created embroidered copies of eight Masterpiece paintings from the Song and Yuan dynasties using the Gu family embroidery technique/medium.
On the left hand side of each folio, the influential Ming connoisseur and painting master, Dong Qichang (1555-1636) inscribes a colophon in ink. Dong Qichang was the artistic mentor of Gu Shouqian (the grandson of the establisher of Gu family embroidery and the husband of Lady Han Ximeng).
1) Washing a Horse
The polychrome embroidery is based on the painting by the Yuan master, Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322). On the right hand page of the folio, the picture is embroidered and painted on a white silk ground. In a pond under a willow tree, a groom is carefully washing his beloved dappled-grey with a brush. Plump and sturdy, the horse lifts its front leg and whinnies, seemingly excited by the bath.
It is a vivid embroidered interpretation of Zhao Mengfu's painting. Stitches imitate the brush style of black dots on the white horse. Overlapping stitches, the signature stitch type of the Gu family, are used to present the horse's body.
2) Auspicious Deer
Along a riverbank, a sika is strolling under a fully-blooming sweet-scented osmanthus tree. Although in the design, only the tree root and part of a blossoming branch is shown, the correlation makes viewers feel the whole tree.
The sika has a dark brown mantle with white spots and black antlers. His shining eyes suggest a vibrant and alert animal. The "batched stitch" (tao zhen) is employed to present the sika's dense fur. Blue colours outline the lake rock in the river and accentuate the numinous atmosphere of the design.
The other rock protruding from the bank, which is darker in colour, is both embroidered and painted.
3) Patching a Surcoat or Patching Dragon-patterned Garment
The portrait-like picture depicts a dainty lady seated on a round stool, patching a dragon-patterned garment. She is dressed traditionally: her orange blouse crosses in the front over which a long white skirt with blue flower patterns is tied; a trailing blue sash floats down to the floor. Her jade-like wrist and light fingers suggest her dexterity in doing needlework.
The artist used threads of contrasting colours to place attention on the lady. The stitches, elaborate and complicated, vary in order to create different visual effects in the details.
4) The Quail
A plump quail is looking for food on the hillside where red-fruit plants grow.
Feather stitches (shimao zhen) vividly present the varied quality of the soft feathers on the bird's back, chest, and stomach, making one want to reach out to touch them. The feet are rendered with pin stitches (ding zhen), which precisely interpret the joints of the claw. The coloration of the whole design is based on the quail's brown feathers, with touches of green leaves and red fruit as highlights for balance.
Although basing the design of the embroidery on an existing painting, Lady Han Ximeng exercised her extraordinary understanding of the quail in terms of its appearance and colours, which contributes to both verisimilitude and artistry.
5) Landscape Painting by the Mi family
Mi Fu (1052-1107) and his son Mi Youren (1074-1151) were renowned landscape painting masters of the Song dynasty (960-1279). Their works are characterized by monochrome ink dots and ink wash.
In creating the dreamy and misty atmosphere, Lady Han Ximeng reduced the density of needlework and applied more ink wash to capture the essence of the moment when "night rain has let up and the dawn mist is about to clear".
On the left hand side of the folio, the influential Ming dynasty connoisseur and painting master, Dong Qichang (1555-1636) inscribed the following:
"Passionate brush of Nangong:
Miraculous needles came during the night;
A joint picture in needlework and ink:
Remote mountains and deep clouds;
He who steps into this ordinary yet hushed scene,
Whether wandering or standing still, will hear a long whistling."
6) Squirrel and Grapes
From the lower left corner, two curly coarse vines twisting together grow from a hillside. A fluffy squirrel is climbing up to reach the bunch of grapes dangling from the top of the vine. The creative design presents a transient view in autumn. The little squirrel, with his bright and piercing eyes, clings to the vine and stretches for the fruit.
The design reveals that Lady Han Ximeng has a detailed observation of life and consummate skill in embroidery. Tiny, thin stitches accumulate for the squirrel's bushy tail. The grapes are romantically interpreted in blue. Threads of dark and pale blue, grey, and white are sewn together to indicate the different degrees of ripeness. The holes made by worms and the withered yellow edges on one of the leaves augment the verisimilitude.
The artwork has bright and contrasting colours, giving the viewer a strong impression at first glance.
7) Hyacinth Beans and Dragonflies
Two dragonflies are fluttering above a hyacinth bean plant.
Although the design is simple, the vibrancy of the dragonflies and the stillness of the plant complement each other well in presenting harmonious natural scenery. The embroidery combines a variety of stitch types.
To create the gradual change of colours, the blossoms of the bean are embroidered with "batched stitch" (tao zhen). Outlined with "rolling stitch" (gun zhen), the hyacinth beans have plump seeds inside. The plumpness is made possible by an embroidery technique that pads the designated patterns with soft material before they are decorated with embroidery.
The wings of the dragonflies are rendered with "ice-crackle stitch"(bingwen zhen), which precisely suggests the gauze-like thinness of the wings.
8) Recluse Fishing on Flower Brook
This embroidery is named after a painting of the same title by Wang Meng (1308-1385), the accomplished painter of the Yuan dynasty (1272-1368). The painting now is in the permanent collection of the National Palace Museum in Taibei.
Other than copying the original painting, Lady Han grasped the essence of it and then presented a quiet river scene with her miraculous needles. Short, continuous mountains suggest the distance from beyond the river. In the middle, a hermit fisherman fishes from a boat that is small compared to the wide expanse of the river-a large blank space without a stitch to indicate water. In the foreground, the riverbank is elaborately treated with embroidery. Trees are rendered with stitches in imitation of ink dots, hooks, and wash after the brush style of Wang Meng.
The embroidery combines needlework with polychrome paint. However, thin threads would never replace the writing brush. Due to the limitations of this different art form, it can hardly be expected to present the full effect of ink splash and ink wash when portraying luxuriant forests and spectacular mountain ranges.
* All information and images derived from the website of The Palace Museum in Beijing and Google Arts and Culture *
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