Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibits 'The Weng Family Collection of Chinese Painting: Art Rocks'
Rock Stone. Gift of the Wan‑go H. C. Weng Collection and the Weng family, in honor of Weng Tonghe. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
BOSTON, MASS.- In China, rocks in their natural form are objects of great aesthetic appreciation. As far back as 1,000 years ago, serious art collectors and critics acquired and competed for rocks with the same passion they afforded great works of painting and calligraphy. Rather than celebrating superficial beauty, collectors exalted imperfection for its expressive possibilities and sought rocks that were not symmetrical or smooth or pretty. They used terms like strange, weird and awkward as complimentary descriptions of the rocks they most preferred. The humble rock became, like an abstract sculpture, a medium to explore forms and textures, and to express one’s inner being. In the minds of serious connoisseurs, rocks, as microcosms of mountains—or even the entire universe—were meditations on life itself.
From 2018 to 2021, Wan-go H. C. Weng (1918–2020) made the largest gift of Chinese paintings and calligraphy to the MFA in the institution’s history, comprising more than 390 objects acquired and passed down through six generations of his family. Rocks were integral to the Weng family’s art collection, as subjects of paintings and as art objects themselves. On view through May 3, 2023, Weng Family Collection of Chinese Paintings: Art Rocks features more than 25 works from the gift that explore how rock aesthetics have permeated architecture, landscape design and painting styles in China for a millennium. Visitors can envision themselves in paintings of gardens where colossal rocks loom over a scholar’s studio, or scenes of fantastical caves where artists gaze in awe at mysterious rock formations. And rocks of all kind—large and small, weird and imperfect—are on view throughout the exhibition, welcoming viewers to ponder, explore or, like the ancient poets, venerate.
This is the third in a series of three exhibitions celebrating the landmark donation made by Wan-go H. C. Weng, a longtime supporter of the MFA who, until he passed away in 2020 at the age of 102, devoted his life to the preservation, study and promotion of China’s cultural heritage.
Glass in the shape of a rock, Chinese, Qing dynasty, 18th century. Glass with wooden stand. Gift of the Rosenblum Family. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Lingbi rock with wooden base, Chinese, Qing dynasty, 18th–19th century. Rock (lingbi) with wooden base. Gift of the Rosenblum Family. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Children Playing and Rock, two album leaves (detail), Chen Hongshou (Chinese, 1598–1652). Ink on paper. Gift of the Wan‑go H. C. Weng Collection and the Weng family, in honor of Weng Tonghe. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Elegant Ink (Landscapes after Ancient Masters), Jin Nong (Chinese, 1687–1764), 1757. Ink on paper. Gift of the Wan‑go H. C. Weng Collection and the Weng family, in honor of Weng Tonghe. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Small album by Jiu Si Tang, Yung iong Aisin Gioro (Chinese, 1743–1790).Ink and color on paper. Gift of the Wan‑go H. C. Weng Collection and the Weng family, in honor of Weng Tonghe. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Lacquer with inlaid mother-of-pearl dish, Chinese, Qing dynasty, 18th century. Lacquer over wood with mother-of-pearl. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Finger Paintings of Flowers, (Chinese, 1660–1743), dated 1708. Ink on paper. Marshall H. Gould Fund. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Rocks and Flowers, Ju Lian (Chinese, 1828–1904), about 1888. Ink and color on silk. Gift of Edward Warren Bernat. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston