Artwork Description

Title: Landscape
Artist: Xu Jiyun
Date: n.d.
Medium: Ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 69 × 69 cm (27.2 × 27.2 in)

1. Artwork Identification
This striking Landscape by Xu Jiyun captures a dramatic, vertical terrain with sheer cliffs enveloping a winding passage. A small white village clings to the rocky slope, framed by sweeping washes of vivid blue, red, and ochre. Wisps of distant figures drift in the luminous gorge, enhancing the depth and narrative of human scale within nature’s immensity.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Xu Jiyun’s work blends classical Chinese shan shui (mountain-water) sensibilities with expressive abstraction. The vertical orientation and interplay of gestural ink washes and saturated mineral pigments are characteristic of a modern evolution in Chinese landscape painting—one that bridges tradition and experimentation.

3. Historical Context
As part of a broader movement in post-20th-century Chinese painting, Xu Jiyun’s landscapes evoke the timeless spirituality of traditional ink painting while integrating contemporary aesthetics. His exploration of vertical format, void space, and chromatic layering places his work in dialogue with both historical literati painters and modern expressionism.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. There are no noticeable signs of wear, discoloration, or damage. Paper remains structurally stable, and the pigments retain their vivid brilliance.

6. Artistic Significance
This piece exemplifies Xu Jiyun’s vision of landscape as both geographic and metaphysical. The contrasting elements of void and color, solitude and habitation, create a poetic tension emblematic of Chinese philosophy. This composition contributes to the ongoing dialogue between classical techniques and the expressive freedom of contemporary Chinese ink art.