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Why is the authenticity of some paintings attributed to Xia Gui uncertain?
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Xia Gui
Pure and Remote View of Streams and Mountains, detail of hand scroll in ink and paper by Xia Gui, early 13th century (Southern Song); in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.
The authenticity of paintings attributed to the Chinese master Xia Gui is often uncertain due to several factors related to historical preservation and the nature of his artistic legacy:
- Loss of Signatures and Documentation: Many works once attributed to Xia Gui have lost their original signatures during processes such as remounting, making definitive identification difficult.1
- Prevalence of Copies: Because Xia Gui was a highly influential figure, his style was frequently imitated by later artists. Some works that were historically regarded as major pieces by the master have been re-evaluated by scholars and are now recognized as later copies rather than original productions.1
- Variations in Attribution: While some works are widely accepted as genuineāsuch as specific album leaves in Japanese and American collectionsāothers rely on colophons or inscriptions added by later writers, which may not always be reliable indicators of the painting's true origin.1
- Stylistic Imitation: The Ma-Xia school style was widely adopted by followers and later painters, particularly during the Ming dynasty. Distinguishing between an authentic work by the master and a high-quality imitation by a skilled contemporary or successor requires careful analysis of brushwork and technique.21