Album of Miscellaneous Subjects, Leaf 1
1654
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
1654
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Album of Miscellaneous Subjects, Leaf 1 is a 1654 unspecified by Fan Qi, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a tiny boat gliding between jagged cliffs on a single sheet of paper. Fan Qi painted this in the 1650s, right after the Ming dynasty fell. The empty space around the boat isn’t just air—it’s the quiet of a country in upheaval. A poet’s words on the facing page say the boat has sailed “through ten thousand layers of hills,” as if the journey itself is invisible. Look up more paintings of china, qing dynasty (1644-1911) to see how artists handled the same silence.
Fan Qi's painting on leaf one may be inspired by Tang dynasty poet's Li Bai's line: A small boat has sailed through ten thousand layers of hills. Wang Wu's colophon facing the painting reads: A narrow path coiling, winds across rock foundations; Old vines and ancient trees meet the sunset's slanting rays. Unaware that my small boat has gone so far, By the time it reverses its oars, the green mountains will be half-covered with clouds.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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