Wang Meng brings his distinctively dense brushwork to this painting of the Forest Chamber Grotto at Lake Tai. The composition is claustrophobic, but it can be deciphered by looking closely at his brush-strokes. Wang used a blend of traditional brush techniques to distinguish the different elements of the Grotto. “Ox-tail” textured strokes delineate the landscape forms and long “hemp-fiber” strokes create the tree trunks. Combined with the dense “moss” dots, layers of ink washes were added to create a distinction between light and dark. Finally, Wang Meng used touches of ocher and red to capture the hue of autumn.
