Minneapolis Institute of Art

A Scholar Contemplating a Waterfall

Zhang LuLinkedCulture matchlcp-68059224321d

Date: c. 1525
Medium: Hanging scroll, ink and light colors on silk
Department: Asian Art
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Object ID: 1500

From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record

A scholar, accompanied by his servant carrying his books, pauses to contemplate a waterfall as it cascades down a mountain in the distance. This painting encapsulates the eremitic theme in traditional Chinese painting, in which nature and solitude are celebrated as aims of an elevated, scholarly life. The scene also evokes certain religious themes: the flowing water represents the essence of the otherworldly or immortal, embodying Daoist philosophy, which posits that the meaning of life can be sensed but not fully understood or translated into language. The painter Zhang Lu adopted and developed the so-called ax-cut-like brushstrokes, seen here in the depiction of the rocks that are outlined with bold dark lines and washed with broad strokes of lighter ink. China, Asia

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