Artwork
南宋 傳夏珪 澤畔疾風圖 團扇|Windswept lakeshore
南宋 傳夏珪 澤畔疾風圖 團扇|Windswept lakeshore is an ink painting by the Song dynasty landscape artist Xia Gui. It dates from 1212 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Executed in 1212, this landscape is rendered in ink on silk. The work originally took the form of a fan but has been mounted as an album leaf. Measuring 26 cm in height and 27 cm in width, the piece exemplifies the Southern Song dynasty approach to landscape painting through its specific handling of the silk support and ink medium.
History & Provenance
The fan painting Windswept Lakeshore, attributed to the Southern Song artist Xia Gui, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The fan painting Windswept Lakeshore, attributed to the Southern Song artist Xia Gui, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work, dated to 1212, is mounted as an album leaf and measures 26 cm in height by 27 cm in width. The provided sources do not list a specific inventory or accession number for the object, nor do they record any exhibition history for this piece.
Context
The Southern Song fan painting commonly identified as Windswept lakeshore was created by the celebrated landscape master Xia Gui in 1212. Executed in ink on silk and mounted as an album leaf, the work measures 26 × 27 cm and exemplifies the lyrical, atmospheric style characteristic of Southern Song painting. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, the piece is frequently cited in scholarship on the development of Chinese landscape aesthetics, illustrating how artists of the period combined poetic subject matter with refined brushwork.
Its composition and format reflect the broader tradition of portable devotional art within the Southern Song courtly milieu.
Overview
“Windswept Lakeshore,” attributed to the Southern Song painter Xia Gui, is a landscape rendered in ink on silk. Created in 1212, this work originally functioned as a round fan before being mounted as an album leaf. It depicts a tranquil natural environment, characteristic of the period's contemplative approach to landscape painting.
The composition focuses on a solitary figure within a vast setting, inviting reflection on humanity's place in nature.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a serene natural vista, featuring a lone individual traversing a path near a body of water, leaning on a stick. This solitary figure appears small against the expansive backdrop, a common artistic device in Southern Song landscapes to convey the overwhelming scale and majesty of the natural world. The scene evokes a sense of quiet contemplation and the transient presence of human life amidst enduring natural forces.
Artist & collection
