Saying Farewell at Xunyang (Song of the Pipa)
1504
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
1504
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Saying Farewell at Xunyang (Song of the Pipa) is a 1504 unspecified by Wen Boren, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a long scroll of misty riverbanks, willow trees, and tiny figures saying goodbye under a pale sky. The painting illustrates a famous poem about a musician who played for a poet one night. Both had lost their place in the world—one through age, the other through politics. The soft colors and empty spaces make the sadness feel quiet, not loud. To see more paintings like this, look up china, ming dynasty (1368–1644).
This handscroll depicts The Song of the Pipa , a poem by Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846) written after the poet’s encounter with a pipa player on the Yangzi River. Expelled from her home city when her beauty and fame had faded, she played for the poet at night. Her musical performance and tragic life story resonated with Bai Juyi, who had just been demoted and exiled from life at court himself. The hazy, vast view and pale color tonalities of this painting illustrate these feelings of endless sadness, having lost one’s sense of purpose in life.
Wen Boren depicted the chilly autumn water with a fishnet pattern.
Read the full account in the museum source.
