Along the River During the Qingming Festival from Taipei Palace Museum

In conjunction with the Qingming Festival this year (Apr 4, 2016), the National Palace Museum in Taipei has a special exhibition to showcase all eight scrolls of “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” in its collection. The most famous of these is the “Qing Court Version”, which was a collective effort completed by five Qing court artists in 1736.

The original Qingming scroll is by Zhang Zeduan from the early 12th century in the late Northern Song period, now in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing. Universally recognized as one of the great masterpieces of Song genre painting, it depicts scenes of prosperity along the banks of the Bian River in Kaifeng, the Northern Song capital. With its realistic techniques in painting and legendary history in collecting, the scroll not only captured the attention of connoisseurs and collectors through the ages but also later became the focus of art-historical research in modern times. Artists throughout the ages copied the painting, leaving behind innumerable versions today. Scholars believe that approximately a hundred versions exist nowadays in private collections and major museums around the world, demonstrating just how much influence this painting has exerted on Chinese art over the years.

This exhibition is through June 26, 2016.

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