China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) / 1150–1200
Boats at Anchor on West Lake at the City Gate
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Boats at Anchor on West Lake at the City Gate as painting (China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) · 1150–1200).
The depiction of the female figure playing the pipa and the scholarly male evokes an association with a romantic encounter narrated in a well-known Tang dynasty poem.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as Album leaf; ink and color on silk.
The museum's collection notes: Highlighted with a few bright accents, this fan painting conveys a nightly atmosphere with boats anchoring on West Lake at the foot of the city walls. Willow trees line the embankment, and the moon appears above the mountains. While the city is asleep, a figure wearing red inside a boat holds what appears to be a pipa (plucked stringed instrument), while a blue-robed gentleman nearby gazes toward the sound of music, evoking an association with Song of the Lute ( Pipa xing ) by Tang poet Bai Juyi (772–846) which tells the story of a romantic encounter on the Yangzi River.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtBoats at Anchor on West Lake at the City GateOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.