Artwork
南宋 佚名 風雨拉縴圖 團扇|Towing a Boat in a Rainstorm
南宋 佚名 風雨拉縴圖 團扇|Towing a Boat in a Rainstorm is an ink painting. It dates from 1285 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This circular painting, originally a fan, depicts a boat being towed against a severe rainstorm.
About this work
Technique & Style
The transition from a handheld fan to an album leaf reflects the object's continued appreciation and integration into curated collections over time.
Created in 1285, this work is a landscape painting executed in ink and color on silk. Originally fashioned as a round fan, the support was later remounted as an album leaf, a common preservation method for such portable formats. The anonymous artist employs the silk medium to render a dynamic scene of a boat navigating a storm, utilizing ink and pigment to depict the turbulent weather and the physical exertion of towing.
The composition captures the genre's focus on nature's power and human struggle, with the fan shape originally framing the intense interaction between the vessel and the rainstorm. The transition from a handheld fan to an album leaf reflects the object's continued appreciation and integration into curated collections over time.
History & Provenance
Created in China during the Southern Song period, the work is dated to 1285. The artist remains anonymous, with the piece attributed to an unknown painter of the era. Executed in ink and color on silk, the painting was originally a fan that was later mounted as an album leaf.
It currently resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While the specific commission details and the complete chain of ownership prior to its museum acquisition are not detailed in the available records, the work's inception is firmly established in the late thirteenth century within the context of Chinese landscape painting.
Overview
This circular painting, originally a fan, depicts a boat being towed against a severe rainstorm. Executed in ink and color on silk, the artwork captures a dramatic moment of human struggle against overwhelming natural forces. The composition, likely from the Southern Song dynasty, emphasizes the intensity of the weather through its confined format and dynamic brushwork.
Subject & Meaning
The scene portrays a small crew laboring to pull a boat upstream amidst a torrential downpour. Looming dark clouds dominate the sky, underscoring the perilous conditions. The diminutive scale of the figures against the vast, turbulent environment highlights humanity's vulnerability when confronted with nature's raw power, conveying a sense of arduous perseverance.
Artist & collection
南宋 佚名 泛舟柳塘圖 團扇|Boating by a Willow Bank
南宋 佚名 洞天論道圖 團扇|Conversation in a cave
明 佚名 風雨艤舟圖 團扇|Misty Landscape
南宋 佚名 江邨圖 團扇|River Hamlet
名繪集珍 冊 宋閻次平松磴精廬
名繪集珍 冊 宋賈師古巖關古寺
Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds; Poem by Wang Wei
明/清 佚名 仿夏珪 捕魚圖 團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen
Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds, Poem by Wang Wei
