Spring Mist over Jiangnan

1697

Shitao

Shitao (Chinese, 1642–1707)

Chinese Art

Spring Mist over Jiangnan, 1697. Shitao (Chinese, 1642–1707). Hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper; painting: 39 x 52 cm (15 3/8 x 20 1/2 in.); overall with knobs: 167 x 76 cm (65 3/4 x 29 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1954.126

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Shitao
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper
Medium: hanging, scroll, ink, light, color, paper
Dimensions: Painting: 39 x 52 cm (15 3/8 x 20 1/2 in.); Overall with knobs: 167 x 76 cm (65 3/4 x 29 15/16 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: 揚子橋邊江水泛，柳絲弄色不管人白頭。/ 一春雨雪阻遊屐，梅花尚可清明留。/ 老去無聊藉朋輩，年來星散隨波鷗。/ 汪子無端向我發長嘯，吾將縱覧閩澥之奧妙。/ 請君置我先向畫圖看，眼前丘壑都一掃。/ 千里萬里毫端見，非墨非煙聊寄傲。/ 君家嚴親百代才，一言奏對驚風雷。/ 天子非常賜顏色，灜台稱旨今南來。/ 多少寒灰待君活，看君作意為龍媒。丁丑春題畫，贈汪子牧庭之閩海。兼呈思白學使。清湘老人濟大滌堂下。[印]原濟 Translation: Artist's inscription, signature, and seal: Under the Yangzi Bridge, where the river flows,/ The willow tendrils show forth their hue, insensitive to an old man’s graying hair./ Throughout the spring, rain and snow have kept away the travelers;/ Yet throughout the Qingming season, the plum blossoms will survive./ Aging and useless, I have become attached to my friends;/ But year after year, my friends have scattered like stars and seagulls./ Suddenly Master Wang turned to me with a short, astonishing exclamation:/ “I am about to leave for Fujian to exploit the scenic beauty of its seashore./ Before then, would you put me in a picture as a preview?”/ Before your eyes, you will see hills and valley in one sweep./ Regardless of how vast the scene is, it will be shown at the tip of my brush;/ They are not ink, nor mist, but rather a way to lodge my pride:/ Your respected father is a great man in a hundred eras./ One word of his spoken to the emperor resulted in storm and thunder./ The emperor has bestowed on him much extraordinary kindness;/ And he is now coming south by the grace of the throne./ [Would he remember] how many poor scholars are awaiting him for recognition?/ We are all counting on his efforts as the “cultivator of talents” for the dragon [king]. Dingchou [1697], Spring, [I] wrote the colophon on the painting to give it to Master Wang Muting, who is to leave for Minhai, while also extending my greeting to his Excellency, Commissioner for Examination, Mr. Sibai. [Signed] Qingxiang Laoren Ji at Daditang. [Seal] Yuanji. Inscription: 2 colophons and 7 additional seals: 1 colophon and 4 seals of He Yuanyu 何瑗玉 (1840-?); 1 colophon and 2 seals of Li Xinhui (19th-20th c.); 1 seal unidentified.
Departments: Chinese Art
Accession Number: 1954.126
Credit Line: John L. Severance Fund
Exhibitions: Master of Landscape: East and West, Paintings by Tao-chi, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, Chinese Landscape Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5-December 26, 1954)., Chinese Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 19-August 7, 1960)., Masters of Landscape. Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY (September 15-October 13, 1963); The Rochester Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (November 1-December 1, 1963)., The Painting of Tao-Chi, 1641-Ca. 1720. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI (August 13-September 17, 1967).
Rights Statement: CC0