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清王槩芥子園畫傳|Leaf from the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting (Jieziyuan huazhuan)

Wang Gai

1878

ink

paper

From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century Landscape

Dominant colour

清王槩芥子園畫傳|Leaf from the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting (Jieziyuan huazhuan) is a 1878 ink by Wang Gai, a Impressionism work, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Wang Gai
When & what style?: 1878 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Metropolitan Museum of Art

About this work

This print shows two quiet mountain scenes. On the left, a winding path climbs rocky hills dotted with tiny buildings and trees. The right side has a boat floating on calm water near a misty shore. Both images use only ink lines and soft shading—no bold colors. The artist packed a lot into small details, like the tiny figures hiking up the path or the boat’s single passenger. This print comes from a book teaching artists how to draw landscapes. Next, check out cross-hatching to see how layers of lines create depth.