Who painted 明/清佚名仿夏珪捕魚圖團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen?

明/清佚名仿夏珪捕魚圖團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen was painted by After Xia Gui in 1506.

Where can I see 明/清佚名仿夏珪捕魚圖團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen?

明/清佚名仿夏珪捕魚圖團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is 明/清佚名仿夏珪捕魚圖團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen?

明/清佚名仿夏珪捕魚圖團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen is associated with Ming dynasty painting.

Artwork

明/清佚名仿夏珪捕魚圖團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen

After Xia Gui , 1506

明/清佚名仿夏珪捕魚圖團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen is an ink painting by the Ming dynasty painting artist After Xia Gui. It dates from 1506 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This ink on silk painting, titled River Landscape with Boatmen, is an anonymous work from the Ming dynasty, likely created around 1506.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

As an anonymous creation from 1506 attributed to the style of Xia Gui, the image centers on the activity of fishing or boating within a natural setting.

The work depicts a river landscape scene featuring men and a boat, consistent with the traditional genre of landscape painting. As an anonymous creation from 1506 attributed to the style of Xia Gui, the image centers on the activity of fishing or boating within a natural setting. The composition captures the interaction between human figures and the water, representing a moment of daily life or labor on the river.

While the specific iconographic symbolism is not detailed in the available records, the subject matter aligns with the established tradition of depicting boatmen navigating waterways, a common motif in Chinese landscape art that emphasizes harmony between humanity and the natural environment.

Technique & Style

This landscape painting is executed in ink on silk, serving as a fan that has been mounted as an album leaf. Measuring 23.2 cm in height and 24.1 cm in width, the circular format dictated the composition's spatial arrangement. The work is attributed to an anonymous Ming or Qing dynasty painter explicitly emulating the stylistic manner of Xia Gui.

Consequently, its formal qualities reflect the Xia Gui aesthetic, utilizing characteristic ink wash techniques to render the landscape and its depicted subjects, a boat and a man, likely employing the expressive, axial brushwork and atmospheric tonal gradations associated with the Xia school of Song dynasty landscape painting.

History & Provenance

The work titled 明/清　佚名　仿夏珪　捕魚圖　團扇|River Landscape with Boatmen, dated 1506, is an ink-on-silk fan leaf mounted as an album leaf and classified as a landscape painting. It was produced in China by an anonymous painter who worked after the style of Xia Gui. The painting depicts a boat with a solitary man and belongs to the landscape genre.

It entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued with dimensions 23.2 × 24.1 cm. No documentation about its original commission survives, and the sources provide no further details on its ownership chain prior to acquisition by the museum.

River Landscape with Boatmen is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The artwork, created in China, is cataloged with dimensions of 23.2 cm in height and 24.1 cm in width. No specific exhibition history is provided by the available sources.

Overview

This ink on silk painting, titled River Landscape with Boatmen, is an anonymous work from the Ming dynasty, likely created around 1506. Mounted as an album leaf, it consciously emulates the distinctive style of the 13th-century master Xia Gui. The composition features a serene river winding through misty hills, with two figures navigating a narrow boat. This piece exemplifies the enduring influence of Song dynasty landscape traditions on later Chinese painting.

Context

This anonymous work from the Ming dynasty directly references the artistic legacy of Xia Gui, a prominent landscape painter of the Southern Song dynasty (13th century). Xia Gui was celebrated for his innovative use of ink washes to create atmospheric, "smoky" landscapes. This piece demonstrates how later artists continued to engage with and reinterpret the stylistic innovations of earlier masters, perpetuating classical traditions through imitation and adaptation across centuries.