The Artful Recluse: Painting, Poetry, and Politics in 17th-Century China

This exhibition showcases nearly 60 paintings from an era of unrivaled
historical drama and artistic achievement in China that spans from the late
Ming (ca. 1600–1644) and the early Qing dynasties (1644–ca.1700).  By adopting a novel, thematic approach
centered on the concept of yin, or reclusion, this presentation brings the
viewer deeply into the world of the literati—the educated elite who were at the
forefront of historical change and voiced their thoughts and ideals through
art.

Works included in the exhibition hail from the National Palace Museum,
Taiwan, five other public institutions, and six private collections in the
United States and Taiwan, as well as the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s
permanent collection―with a number of paintings that have never before
been published.  They cover a variety of
formats—hanging scrolls, handscrolls, albums, and fans—and span a range of
subjects including landscape, figures, birds-and-flowers, and fish.

The accompanying catalogue will be the first publication to explore in
depth the theme of reclusion in painting and calligraphy within the broader
context of political and social changes in the 17th century.