China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) / 1372
Streams and Mountains
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Streams and Mountains as painting (China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) · 1372).
An attendant opens a reed gate to welcome the scholar with a walking stick approaching the rustic retreat.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as hanging scroll; ink on paper and credits Xu Ben (Chinese, 1335–1380).
The museum's collection notes: Like many literati of the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, Xu Ben was entangled with the perils of dynastic change as well as the ups and downs of his official career. It was mainly through the art of painting and poetry, as well as the ideal of reclusion, that he sought feelings of exhilaration and shared them with his friends. Xu created this monumental landscape during one of his periods of reclusion. His innumerable “hemp-fiber” texture strokes create a unifying rhythm among the towering mountains with tightly knit masses of rocks. Nestled among shady trees at the base of the mountain is a rustic retreat, which a scholar approaches on
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtStreams and MountainsOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.