Cleveland Museum of Art

A Solitary Crane in the Bamboo Grove

Tao Hong

Date

early 1600s

Medium

album leaf, ink and color on silk

Culture

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Although little known today, Tao Hong was a versatile artist who here depicts farmers returning home after a day in the fields. The shallow stream and dormant rice fields, the returning birds, and light sprinkles of green foliage all indicate the beginning of the farming season and hope for a good harvest. While the first leaf of this pair, 1999.223, depicts rural life, this one is of a more poetic nature. A lone crane stands in a bamboo grove. By using light colors and nuanced brushwork, Tao Hong achieves an effect of natural light and luminosity.

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