Cleveland Museum of Art

Pure Tones among Hills and Waters

Date

1664

Medium

Handscroll; ink and light color on paper

Culture

China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Painted at age 68, this landscape is one of Xiao Yuncong’s most mature works. Extraordinary in its combination of fine details with bold brushstrokes and bluish washes, it is also one of his longest compositions in handscroll format, extending over 23 feet. Throughout his lifetime, Xiao visited Nanjing and Yangzhou, where he met with other painters and literati. Regarded as the founder of the Gushu school (姑孰派) of painting, Xiao painted from nature, and his landscapes are informed by his travels, as well as by his experience as a print designer. Biographical notes on Xiao Yuncong relate that he did not pursue the career of an official, but "furnished a cottage in the eastern suburbs [of Wuhu in Anhui province] and amused himself playing the qin (zither) and reading every day."

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