Poem+Written+in+a+Boat+on+the+Wu+River-+Mi+Fu



Title: Poem Written in a Boat on the Wu River Artist: Mi Fu Date: ca 1100 Period: Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) Country of Origin: China Medium: Handscroll; ink on paper Dimensions: 12 1/4 in. x 18 ft. 3 1/4 in. (31.1 x 557 cm) Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art Accession Number: 1984.174

Introduction: Written in approximately 1100, 'Poem Written in a Boat on the Wu River' is long and dramatic large-scale calligraphy by Mi Fu. Mi Fu showed great talent from an early age and is well known for his calligraphy and landscape paintings. His mother was the wet-nurse to the empress of the time, so Mi Fu was appointed to several governmental positions due to his connections to the royal family. He used these posts to study art collections throughout China. 'Poem Written in a Boat on the Wu River' is Mi Fu's best known work of art, due to his cursive interpretations. He is also recognized for his landscape paintings as part of the Southern School and for being one of the first literati to paint landscapes. Mi Fu created the technique 'Mi dian cun' which results in impressionistic overlaying of ink washes in graded tones that produces a soft and misty effect with a minimum of structured form, as seen in 'Auspicious Pine-trees in the Spring Mountains'. (sources need to be cited)

Descriptive Analysis: This image is a rectangular handscroll with the dimensions 12 1/4 in. x 18 ft. 3 1/4 in. (31.1 x 557 cm). It is written on a tan piece of paper with a simple brush and has black calligraphy characters.

Contextual Analysis: This work of art was created during the Northern Song Dynasty. In this period of time, several important things happened. Some of these are related to the art world while some are not. First, this dynasty was the first in five which ended in disunion. There was a political uprising which lasted two years and resulted in a treaty. Also, there was a reform which led to the creation of a new dynasty. During the Northern Song Dynasty, landscape painting was reintroduced to China and Mi Fu became one of the forefront leaders in landscape painting as well as calligraphy.

Formal Analysis: 'Poem Written in a Boat on the Wu River' was created with a suspended arm, working from the elbow rather than the wrist. The pressure being used changed often with each stroke of the brush. The size of the characters, the thickness of the strokes, and the amount of ink used varied drastically from column to column. The goal was not to form perfect characters, but to allow expressiveness to shine through for the sake of art. (**This information needs to be cited! It was partially plagiarized from the museum website!!**!)

What is the poem about? What stye of calligraphy does it represent....

Personal Interpretation: I chose this artwork because of the calligraphy and how well respected the artist is. I am still intrigued by the work and would like to find out more, but I discovered a great deal about the calligrapher, Mi Fu. His only passion in life was art, and everything came second to it including his family.

References:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1984.174

http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/asian_art/poem_written_in_a_boat_on_the_wu_river_mi_fu/objectview_enlarge.aspx?page=66&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=&fp=1&dd1=6&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=6&OID=60006985&vT=1&hi=0&ov=0

http://www.oxfordartonline.com.ezproxy.emich.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T057660pg1?q=mi+fu&hbutton_search.x=0&hbutton_search.y=0&hbutton_search=search&source=oao_gao&source=oao_t118&source=oao_t234&source=oao_t4&search=quick&pos=2&_start=1#firsthit

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379636/Mi-Fu

http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?/topic/124-chronology-of-major-events-in-chinese-history/