1575 -1629 · Jiading, poetry and literate landscape of the late Ming

Sparse groves, pale moons and rapid lines make Li Liufang a painter-poet of withdrawal, capable of condensing a landscape into a few signs.

Li Liufang was born in 1575 in Shexian, Anhui, into a family that then settled in Jiading, near Shanghai. He died in 1629. Trained in classics, poetry, calligraphy and painting, he belonged to the world of late Ming scholars. After passing the first degrees of the exams, he gave up pursuing an official career when political tensions and factional struggles made state service increasingly compromised. He preferred travel, friendship, contemplation of famous sites and a relatively retired life. With Cheng Jiasui, Lou Jian and Tang Shisheng, he was associated with the Four Gentlemen of Jiading. His work includes landscapes, albums, fans, inscriptions and poems. Li admires the Yuan masters, but refuses the heavy quote. His brush seeks the essential: a group of trees, a bank, a silhouette or a moon are enough to create an interior state. Figure in a grove, dated 1613, is painted in ink on the non-absorbent golden paper of a fan then mounted as an album sheet. A few quick lines draw spaced trunks and a small solitary figure. A pale circle above his head indicates the moon. The shallow depth, the almost ghostly ink and the shimmer of the support transform a tiny scene into a nocturnal landscape. The character does not act: he stands in the grove, available to solitude and listening. Virtuosity is as much about what is missing as it is about what is painted. Li Liufang is also known for his travel descriptions and writings on the landscapes of Jiangnan. The experience of the place therefore directly nourishes his painting, but memory and poetry eliminate accidental details. His brief career therefore ended before the fall of the Ming; However, it announces the sensitivity of many 17th century artists for whom the landscape became a space of moral withdrawal and private conversation. His brief career ended before the fall of the Ming; However, it announces the sensitivity of many 17th century artists for whom the landscape became a space of moral withdrawal and private conversation. His brief career ended before the fall of the Ming; However, it announces the sensitivity of many 17th century artists for whom the landscape became a space of moral withdrawal and private conversation. The "Li Liufang" selection notably compares Figure in a Grove. His reading favors atmosphere.

Li Liufang leaves half of the story empty: a few trees, a moon and a figure are enough for the landscape to become lived solitude.