Cleveland Museum of Art

Willows

Date

1100s

Medium

album leaf; ink and light color on silk

Culture

China, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A single scholar in a skiff drifts beneath shade-giving willows and savors his view of mountain peaks just emerging from the pervasive river mist. Round lotus leaves and vertical marsh reeds join with the dotted grasses and curving willow leaves to provide considerable textural variety within the foreground area, which contrasts with the more irregular texturing of the distant mountains. Misty space plays an active part in the composition, and the components of the painting are organized around bisecting diagonals. This river scene features low-lying spits of land surrounded by lotuses and bands of mist floating amid overhanging willows.

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