Four Panels in Clerical Script, Four panels
Jin Nong
Qing Dynasty
- MEDIUM:Ink on paper
- FORMATS:Four panels
- DIMENSIONS:Height 150 cm; Width 42.5 cm
Introduction
This work was created when Jin Nong, at the age of 48, returned to Yangzhou for the third time. By this period, his clerical script had moved away from the orderly style of his earlier years, when he “strictly followed Han models.” Instead, he was inspired by ‘ The Stele of the Western Peak Huashan Temple’, freeing himself from the constraints of past masters and pursuing beauty through awkwardness and skill through weight. In horizontal strokes, he began with a vertical press before dragging the brush in a heavy oblique stroke, giving the lines a square solidity; vertical strokes start with a hidden tip and slant downward in a fine line, contrasting with the broad, blunt horizontals; slanted strokes are extended and lifted, often with a dry brush, producing textured, lively lines. The overall structure is well-balanced yet flexible, expressing ease and freedom while conveying a mature and steady spirit. Jin favored the use of rich ink—flat and broad yet never thin, heavy but never stagnant, concise yet full of archaic charm, like “an old tree blossoming anew.”
Among the “Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou,” his calligraphy stands out for its refined taste and remarkable originality.
