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Mountain Landscape in Moonlight

Unknown

1204

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Ming Painting Medieval Landscape

Dominant colour

Mountain Landscape in Moonlight is a 1204 unspecified by Unknown, a Ming Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1204 · Ming Painting
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a dark mountain under a bright moon, ink washed in soft gray. A poet rides a mule, a servant walks beside him carrying a bundle. The artist used tiny dots for leaves and gentle shading to make the night feel warm and thick. A Zen priest wrote a short poem on the painting, saying the rider is the old Chinese poet Du Fu. To see more paintings like this, look up china.

The story of this work

Overview

Painted in modulated monochrome ink washes with dark dots for foliate accents, the anonymous artist successfully suggests the dense atmosphere of a warm summer night. Under a full moon a scholar rides a mule, accompanied by a servant who carries his belongings. The poem inscribed by Chan (Zen) priest Yunfeng Miaogao identifies the figure as the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770). Who rides Du [Fu]'s mule: Through the universe his name resounds. Chanting poems as he rides off on his mule, How quickly does he become drunk with Heaven and Earth!

Read the full account in the museum source.