Artwork
Returning Sails off a Distant Shores, from Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang
Returning Sails off a Distant Shores, from Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang is an unspecified painting by the Nihonga artist Tani Bunchō. It dates from 1788 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 1980.188.3
- Credit line
- Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
About this work
Overview
Returning Sails off a Distant Shores is a painting from a set of album leaves depicting the Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang, a theme rooted in Chinese poetry and painting.
Subject & Meaning
The work shows a serene landscape with distant sails set against a misty backdrop, evoking the ever-changing landscape of the Xiao-Xiang region in southern China, where the Xiang River's mist-shrouded banks inspired generations of artists.
Context
The Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang theme was influential across East Asia, spreading to Korea and Japan, where it was taken up by artists, possibly at the behest of prominent Japanese Confucian scholars.
Artist & collection
