Landscape

XU JIAN (1712-1789)
Landscape
Scroll, mounted for framing, ink on paper
141.7 x 36.8 cm. (55 ³⁄₄ x 14 ¹⁄₂ in.)
Inscribed and signed, with two seals of the artist
Dated summer, renwu year (1762)
Four collectors’ seals
Wang Wenzhi (1730-1802) inscribed on the mounted side, with three seals, dated spring, second month, forty-fifth year of the Qianlong reign (1780)
Three collector's seals

Wang Wenxin (1888-1974), sobriquest Baoshou, was born in Jingmen, Hubei, originally from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. He studied abroad in France at the age of thirteen and returned to China when he was twenty years old. In 1928, Wang Wenxin settled in Shanghai to engage in business, and was once the chairman of Shanghai Watson's Mineral Water Co. Being a successful conoisseur and collector, Wang have had a profound knowledge of both Western and Eastern studies, and deep relationships with phenomenal figures including Kang Youwei, Ye Gongchuo, Wu Hufan, Zhang Daqian. Wang’s grandfather Wang Yangdu was a famous collector from Jingmen during the Emperor Daoguang Period (1821-1850), and his collection was later passed to Wang Wenxin with the studio name Mengquan.