Who painted 元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇|Angling in the Autumn River?

元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇|Angling in the Autumn River was painted by Sheng Zhu in ca. 1370.

Where can I see 元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇|Angling in the Autumn River?

元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇|Angling in the Autumn River is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is 元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇|Angling in the Autumn River?

元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇|Angling in the Autumn River is associated with Ming dynasty painting.

Artwork

元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇|Angling in the Autumn River

Sheng Zhu , 1370

元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇|Angling in the Autumn River is an ink painting by the Ming dynasty painting artist Sheng Zhu. It dates from 1370 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Technique & Style

The composition focuses on natural elements within the landscape genre, with careful brushwork on the delicate silk ground used to convey atmospheric depth.

Angling in the Autumn River is executed as a fan mounted as an album leaf, using ink and color applied to a silk support. Created around 1370 by the painter Sheng Zhu, the work exemplifies landscape painting traditions through its depiction of a river and trees. The medium combines monochrome ink with colored pigments, a common practice for silk-based works of this period that allows for nuanced tonal variations and subtle coloration.

As a fan painting repurposed into an album leaf, the format reflects a common means of preserving such objects. The composition focuses on natural elements within the landscape genre, with careful brushwork on the delicate silk ground used to convey atmospheric depth.

History & Provenance

元盛著秋江垂釣圖團扇 (Angling in the Autumn River) was produced in China around 1370 by the painter Sheng Zhu as a painting in ink and color on silk, originally a fan later mounted as an album leaf. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is classified as a landscape painting depicting a river and a tree. The sources do not provide a specific accession number, nor do they document any exhibition history for the work.

Legacy

Sheng Zhu's Angling in the Autumn River, dated to about 1370, is a representative example of Yuan-period landscape painting in the fan format. Held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it reflects the period's treatment of river-and-tree motifs in ink and light color on silk.

Overview

Sheng Zhu's Angling in the Autumn River, created around 1370, is a small-scale landscape painting executed in ink and color on silk. Originally a round fan, it was later transformed into an album leaf. The work portrays a solitary figure fishing from a rocky bank beside a winding river, set amidst autumn trees.

The composition emphasizes a sense of tranquility and expansive quietude through its delicate execution and use of open space.

Subject & Meaning

The painting centers on a lone individual engaged in angling, a common motif in East Asian art symbolizing scholarly retreat and contemplation. Positioned on a rocky riverbank, the figure is dwarfed by the surrounding natural elements, including a meandering river and trees exhibiting autumnal hues. This scene evokes a profound sense of peace and detachment from worldly concerns, inviting viewers into a moment of quiet reflection within the vastness of nature.