Zhi and Xu's Pure Conversation
1643
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1643
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Zhi and Xu's Pure Conversation is a 1643 unspecified by Lan Ying, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two old men sitting under pine trees, talking quietly. This painting was a gift from Lan Ying to a monk friend in 1643, a year before the Ming dynasty fell. The men aren’t just random—they’re ancient sages, meant to stand in for the artist and his friend. It’s like a private joke, or a wish for calm in a time of chaos. If you like this, look up *china, ming dynasty (1368–1644)* for more paintings from this time.
Lan Ying’s painting is a gift to his friend, the Chan monk Wuyun, in which he depicted two sages of the Six Dynasties period: the Buddhist monk Zhidun (314–366 CE), and the Daoist priest Xu Xun (265–420 CE). Meant to be understood as an analogy of the friendship between artist and monk, the painting also offered a retreat into the past, a year before the fall of the Ming dynasty. A professional painter born in Hangzhou, Lan Ying is traditionally considered a last representative of the Zhe school. Lan wrote poetic inscriptions and interacted with the literatus Chen Jiru (1558–1639).
This painting serves as an analogy of the friendship between artist and monk.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Lan Ying grew up in the southeastern city of Hangzhou, where misty mountains roll into the sea.
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