Winter Landscape
Artist: After Guo Xi (Chinese)
Date: Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), late 13th century
Dimensions:
Painting: 21 11/16 in. x 15 ft. 9 1.4 in. (55 cm x 4.8 m)
Scroll: 22 3/16 in. x 33 ft. 4 3/16 in. (56.4 cm x 10.2 m)
Medium: Ink and opaque colors on silk
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1927.151
Label Text:Like a piece of music, the composition of this unusually long hand scroll-more than thirty-three feet- flows rhythmically through varied stretches of grand landscapes. But the scroll was never intended to be seen all at once; rather, a seated viewer unrolled it only an arm's-length section at a time. Each section allowed the viewer to nourish and refresh his spirit by taking an imaginary journey, over time, through a landscape representing a microcosm of the whole of nature. This goal-to wander through time and space-explains in part the shifting perspectives throughout the painting.
The scroll reads from right to left and begins rather quietly in mist-covered hills, building to a crescendo of craggy high peaks. Men and animals populate the painting, but the viewer often has to look closely for them, as they are overpowered by the vastness of the landscape. This depiction would have been in concert with the beliefs of Daoism, which held that mankind was insignificant to the power of nature.
The importance of this renowned scroll lies not only in its extraordinary length and quality, but also in the fact that many scholars believe it is among the oldest surviving Chinese hand scrolls known. It reproduces an important lost scroll painted more than two centuries earlier by Guo Xi, who distinguished himself both as an artist and as the author of an important treatise on landscape painting. The unknown painter of this scroll (at least fifteen different artists have been suggested by scholars over many years) was not considered less worthy for imitating an existing work. Styles developed by past great masters were revered at the emperor's court, whose artists studied and reproduced them by imperial order so that they could maintain a sense of identity with tradition.
Many scholars believe this is among the oldest surviving Chinese hand scrolls known. It reproduces an important lost scroll painted more than two centuries earlier by Guo Xi (1020–1090), who was both an artist and the author of an important treatise on landscape painting. The unknown painter of this scroll was not considered less worthy for imitating an existing work. Styles developed by past great masters were revered at the emperor’s court, whose artists studied and reproduced them by imperial order so that they could maintain a sense of identity with tradition.
The scroll reads from right to left and begins rather quietly in mist-covered hills, building to a crescendo of craggy high peaks. Men and animals populate the painting, but the viewer often has to look closely for them, as they are overpowered by the vastness of the landscape. This depiction would have been in concert with the beliefs of Daoism, which held that mankind was insignificant to the power of nature.
The importance of this renowned scroll lies not only in its extraordinary length and quality, but also in the fact that many scholars believe it is among the oldest surviving Chinese hand scrolls known. It reproduces an important lost scroll painted more than two centuries earlier by Guo Xi, who distinguished himself both as an artist and as the author of an important treatise on landscape painting. The unknown painter of this scroll (at least fifteen different artists have been suggested by scholars over many years) was not considered less worthy for imitating an existing work. Styles developed by past great masters were revered at the emperor's court, whose artists studied and reproduced them by imperial order so that they could maintain a sense of identity with tradition.
Many scholars believe this is among the oldest surviving Chinese hand scrolls known. It reproduces an important lost scroll painted more than two centuries earlier by Guo Xi (1020–1090), who was both an artist and the author of an important treatise on landscape painting. The unknown painter of this scroll was not considered less worthy for imitating an existing work. Styles developed by past great masters were revered at the emperor’s court, whose artists studied and reproduced them by imperial order so that they could maintain a sense of identity with tradition.
Not on view
In Collection(s)