1551
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Old Trees by a Wintry Brook is a 1551 unspecified by Wen Zhengming, a Ming Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see old trees standing by a frozen brook in this painting. The artist, Wen Zhengming, wrote an inscription on the painting, which is interesting because it reveals his thoughts and feelings when he created it. He even mentioned his age, 82, when he made this. Check out the work of artist: Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470–1559) to learn more about his style and other paintings.
Wen Zhengming was one of the most celebrated calligraphers and painters during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). His inscription, gracefully written in small characters on the upper left corner, reveals Wen’s emotional mood at that moment of creation. "In the fifteenth day of the fifth month, the year of xinhai [1551], [I], Zhengming, playfully write this Old Trees by a Wintry Brook at eighty-two [sui]." How should we understand a wintery landscape painted in the middle of spring? Was it simply inspired by a surprisingly late spring snow? Or can it be that the “wintery” brook reflects the…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Wen Zhengming spent most of his life in Suzhou, a city of canals and scholars where art and poetry were daily habits, not hobbies.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
