Withered Trees and Wintry Crows
Gao Fenghan
Qing Dynasty
- MEDIUM:Ink on paper
- FORMATS:Hanging scroll
- DIMENSIONS:Height 111.0 cm; Width 45.5 cm
Introduction
At the age of sixty-five, just a year before his death, Gao Fenghan painted this work in his hometown of Jiaozhou, having returned there in poverty and ill health. When his old friend Long Guang visited and requested a painting, he responded with this image of rustic mountain solitude.
Executed with a balance of dry and moist brushwork, the scene blends natural variations of ink tones. Barren slopes and hidden ravines are dotted with sparse, withered trees; crows circle high above, while others perch thickly on the branches, evoking a sense of desolation and chill. In Chinese folk belief, crows are considered inauspicious, making the imagery of “crows in a wintry grove” the opposite of “magpies on blossoming branches.” Gao often chose the bleak motif of “winter crows” to give voice to his turbulent life—repeated failures in the civil examinations, false imprisonment, and the crippling of his right hand—expressing his disillusionment and his longing to withdraw into the seclusion of nature.
