An artwork on Galleree from Cleveland Museum of Art.
About the artwork
Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mistearly 1500s
This painting depicts several vignettes of the scholar-hermit’s various activities. In the lower left corner, the scholar-hermit is portrayed welcoming his guest in the courtyard. In the middle section on the lower bottom, the scholar and his guest are shown encountering another traveler on the bridge and exchanging their greetings. After crossing the bridge, the scholar visits a friend who lives in a compound of multiple buildings. The two friends decide to take a short walk. Both appear in a terraced cliff, enjoying a mountain vista and the fragrance of an old pine tree carried by the gentle wind. The scholar continues his journey with his two servants. They are portrayed crossing a winding wooden bridge. Right beyond the colossal rocky mountain, a panoramic view to a bustling market place unfolds, suggesting that it may be the place where the scholar-hermit’s entourage would visit. Perhaps the scholar need to buy items such as books, rolls of papers, and brushes, all essential to scholarly life. Toward the upper left corner, another group of travelers is landing on the river bank that leads to the city gate; they may be headed to the multistoried Buddhist stupa nestled on the top of the mountains.
Due to its stylistic features, this painting has long been believed to be a Chinese painting of the Northern Song period, dated to the 12th century.
Hanging scroll; ink on silk
Painting: 115.3 x 60 cm (45 3/8 x 23 5/8 in.); Overall: 179 x 70.7 cm (70 1/2 x 27 13/16 in.); Overall with knobs and cord: 181.8 x 77 cm (71 9/16 x 30 5/16 in.)
Gift from the Collection of George Gund III
In the gentle glow of twilight, a canvas reveals a world where the scholar-hermit navigates through moments both serene and bustling, each brushstroke a testament to the quiet depth of his existence.
In the lower left corner, beneath the soft embrace of a wisteria-laden archway, the sage greets a guest with an inviting smile, his courtyard whispering tales of warmth and friendship. The air is laced with the fragrance of jasmine, wrapping around them as they exchange pleasantries, the kind of simple chatter that echoes through ages.
As we shift our gaze to the center of the painting, we find our scholar and his guest traversing a slender bridge, where a chance encounter with a traveler unravels a brief yet profound moment. Their greetings float across the expanse, intertwining lives like the gently flowing river below, each word a ripple that resonates in the stillness of the surrounding landscape.
Their journey continues, bringing them to a friend's compound, a sanctuary of mingling rooftops and whispered confidences. The two men decide to venture into the wild, nature’s beauty unfurling around them. There, on a terraced cliff, they stand, surrounded by majestic mountains, inhaling the aroma of an ancient pine tree swaying softly in the breeze. This shared moment—an unspoken bond—their laughter dances with the wind, echoing against the ages.
As the scholar moves onward, his loyal servants trailing along, the winding wooden bridge beneath their feet feels almost alive. It leads them to the foot of a colossal rocky mountain, beyond which lies the vibrant pulse of a marketplace. Here, amidst the throng of life's daily rhythm, one can imagine the scholar gathering all the elements essential to his craft: books filled with wisdom, rolls of paper waiting to capture thoughts, and brushes eager to translate ink into art.
Gazing upward, one notices another group of travelers approaching the riverbank. Their intentions are clear—they are bound for the city gate, perhaps destined for the majestic Buddhist stupa that rises proudly atop the mountains, a beacon of serenity amidst the chaos of life below.
In the hues of this painting, every vignette tells a story, a narrative woven through connections, nature, and the quiet journeys we all take, inviting the viewer to reflect on their paths against the backdrop of a bustling world.
About the artist
Creating transformative experiences through art “for the benefit of all the people forever.”The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 66,500 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The artworks shared on this platform are sourced from the museum's Open Access data under the CC0 license. No endorsement is implied.Address: 11150 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH, USA 44106
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