Who painted Album of Seasonal Landscapes?

Album of Seasonal Landscapes was painted by Xiao Yuncong in 1668.

Where can I see Album of Seasonal Landscapes?

Album of Seasonal Landscapes is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is Album of Seasonal Landscapes?

Album of Seasonal Landscapes is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

Album of Seasonal Landscapes

Xiao Yuncong , 1668

Album of Seasonal Landscapes is an unspecified painting by the Baroque artist Xiao Yuncong. It dates from 1668 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The album comprises twelve modestly sized paintings that depict rivers, hills and trees as they shift through the four seasons.

Accession no.: 1955.302
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund

About this work

The colors stay soft, misty blues and pale greens, that make the scenes feel fresh, not heavy.

This album holds twelve small scenes of rivers, hills, and trees changing with the seasons. Each page feels like a quiet walk through southern China.

Xiao Yuncong worked as a print designer, so his landscapes have a crisp, almost printed look. The colors stay soft, misty blues and pale greens, that make the scenes feel fresh, not heavy. Later artists in Shanghai borrowed his light touch.

To see how his style spread, look up subject: china, qing dynasty (1644-1911).

Overview

The album comprises twelve modestly sized paintings that depict rivers, hills and trees as they shift through the four seasons. Each image invites the viewer to imagine a tranquil promenade through the water‑rich landscape of southern China, rendered in a light, airy palette.

Subject & Meaning

The scenes capture the seasonal rhythms of the Jiangnan region, reflecting the artist’s direct observation of its waterways and foliage. By arranging the views in a chronological sequence, the work emphasizes the passage of time and the subtle transformations of nature.

Technique & Style

Xiao Yuncong’s background as a print designer is evident in the crisp delineation of forms and the clean, almost stamped quality of the brushwork. Soft blues and pale greens dominate, creating a misty atmosphere that keeps the compositions feeling fresh rather than dense.

History & Provenance

Originally owned by Li Yufen of Yangzhou, the album later entered the collection of Wu Hufan in Shanghai. Xiao’s personal seal appears beneath his poetic inscriptions, while red seals added in the margins and lower corners belong to these subsequent owners.

Legacy

The delicate coloration and printed aesthetic of Xiao’s landscapes influenced later Shanghai school painters, who adopted his light touch and subtle tonal range in their own depictions of the Jiangnan scenery.