Let’s not forget about the inanimate objects in the perfect Chinese painting.
When palaces, pavilions, and terraces have been drawn, how can they be left empty? There should be tables and seats, something to lean on and something to sit on. They should not be drawn with too much detail; that would be banal. When the landscape is beautiful and the houses and pavilions also beautiful, and the few furnishings are expensive but unbecoming, it is like a flaw in an otherwise perfect piece of jade.
| Wang An-Chieh, examples of chairs, tables, screens, and couches, ~1680s |
In general, when the house is drawn facing left, tables and couches should follow the same arrangement.
Of course.
Julia Ritson
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