How does Six Gentlemen (painting) elucidate its Analysis?
The starkly barren landscape depicted in Six Gentlemen might represent Ni Zan's feelings about recent upheavals in the region around his home in Wuxi. The devastating Yellow River flood of the previous year displaced many people in the area, and gave rise to banditry and peasant rebellions.The composition and brushwork of Six Gentlemen are simpler compared to Ni Zan’s earlier paintings, such as Enjoying the Wilderness in an Autumn Grove (1339) and Water and Bamboo Dwelling (1343), which had been influenced by the styles of Dong Yuan and Zhao Mengfu. Ni's later approach to landscape painting was expressed by his statement that "what I call painting is no more than free brushwork done sketchily" and that "I never seek representative likeness since I paint only for my own amusement". The austerity of Ni's brushwork is also thought to be connected to his reputed obsession with cleanliness and purity.The visual isolation of the “six gentlemen” in the painting may reflect the attitude of intellectuals like Ni who preferred to live a life of seclusion in the countryside rather than serve as government officials under the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, which had conquered the native Chinese Song dynasty. This theme is suggested by Huang’s inscription, which may be referring to the likeminded individuals gathered in Lu Heng’s house when Ni Zan painted Six Gentlemen, or to the “six gentlemen” of the Song dynasty, a group of officials who were purged from the government for their views. The importance of individual expression (both political and aesthetic), and the rejection of realistic detail, are major themes in late Yuan dynasty literati painting.
Song dynasty Mongol literati painting Dong Yuan landscape painting Ni Zan Yellow River flood Zhao Mengfu Yuan dynasty