Autumn Landscape

In this work, Jiang Eshi skillfully integrated the Chinese literati painting tradition with his own experimental approach. The older conventions can be seen in his limited use of vegetal brown pigment and the vertically oriented composition, which features a tree-lined riverbank and a humble hut set high on a mountainside. But he playfully manipulated the form and medium to produce an exaggerated rock formation accentuated by dense ink. In the inscription, Jiang quoted a lyrical phrase about the late-autumn landscape by Li Bai, a famous 8th-century poet. He signed it “Qingshuang made it for pleasure,” using his courtesy name, which he chose later in life.