The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum

EVENT DESCRIPTION

30 iconic and textbook paintings and calligraphic works from the Jin, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. All works are grade-one cultural objects, and some are the only surviving examples of their kind.
The exhibition comprises three rotations, each lasting around one month, with ten prominent paintings and calligraphic works from the Palace Museum’s collection on view during each rotation.
There are three “keywords” that run through the whole exhibition.

1) Precious as Morning Stars: The paintings and calligraphy in this exhibition are rare early works, or important copies that preserve lost originals by renowned ancient masters. Over successive dynasties, they have passed through multiple collections and have been remounted multiple times. Their survival has provided later generations with a glimpse into earlier styles of painting and calligraphy. Many have been revered as masterpieces in the Chinese art cannon by scholars and artists— past and present;

2) Expressive Ink: The essence of a masterpiece of Chinese painting and calligraphy lies in the use of invigorating brushstrokes and compelling subjects. In paintings, the themes of literati travel, mountains and rivers, pastoral scenes, and the land of the immortals capture our imagination. Calligraphic works, on the other hand, mesmerise us with way they express the calligrapher’s inner self. Some works were based on the classical literary works, turning them into pictorial testimonies of the stories that have been passed down through the ages;

3) Transmission Histories: Seals and inscriptions are a unique characteristic of Chinese paintings and calligraphy. They are a kind of biography, revealing an expansive network of creators, collectors, and connoisseurs attached to each work. Inscriptions on a work, together with commentaries published by later collectors and connoisseurs, are deciding factors that influence the work’s reputation. Their colourful and sometimes turbulent life histories, acquisition by the Palace Museum, and role in exhibitions and research all determine and continue to shape their significance as masterpieces of Chinese art.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

The Hong Kong Palace Museum aspires to become one of the world’s leading cultural institutions committed to the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture, while advancing dialogue among world civilisations through international partnerships. The Museum is a collaborative project between the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Palace Museum, which is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust with a donation of HK$3.5 billion for its establishment, as well as some of the annual exhibitions and education programmes in 2023-2031.