SNOWY MOUNTAINS AFTER WANG WEI China, ca. 18th ct. 126 x 64 cm Ink and light colors on silk, mounted as hanging scroll. Signature on the lower right of the painting: “Respectfully I copied the painting ‘Buddhist Temple in Snowy Mountains’ by Wang Wei (699-759), respectfully painted by your subject Zou Yigui.” Two seals of the artist: „Chen Gui”, “Gong hui”. From an old southern German private collection, acquired between 1970 and 2002 Wang Wei is considered as the founder of the ‘South School’ of painting, which is equivalent with Literati painting. He is especially famous for his snow landscapes and there are countless copies of his famous compositions of snowy mountains. This nice painting is done in an archaistic style trying to imitate the Tang dynasty landscape style of Wang Wei. Ragged cliffs and the red colored buildings for example are typical elements of it. The painting has been given the signature of the famous court painter of the Qianlong period, Zou Yigui (1686-1772), who was a master of flower painting in a brilliant naturalistic style Minor traces of age, very slightly stained