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Baoyang Lake
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This album of landscape paintings depicts the famous scenic areas located in and around the city of Wuxing in southeastern China. These places were all known for their natural beauty, but in addition, a number were distinguished by their links to eminent historical figures and events. The artist, Song Xu, was not a native of Wuxing, but must have visited it when he accepted the commission, for he carefully depicted all eighteen views and wrote comments on each of them. <br><br>Song's gazetteer-like notation on this leaf reads:<br>Baoyang Lake: Several <em>li </em>(Chinese mile) from here to the east, one can exit through Lake Tai, which is quite near. Just a few li to the north is the township of Xiangshan. Having arrived there, one may want to cross over the border to the city of Yixing.
| Artist / Maker | Song Xu |
|---|---|
| Date | c. 1588 |
| Culture / Origin | China, Jiaxing, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) |
| Medium | Album leaf; ink and color on silk |
| Dimensions | Sheet: 26.4 x 28.4 cm (10 3/8 x 11 3/16 in.) |
| Department | Chinese Art |
| Type | Painting |
About the Artist
Song Xu (宋旭, 1525–c. 1606), was a versatile Chinese painter active in northern Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. He was skilled in landscapes, boundary paintings (界畫, paintings of architecture), figure painting, and Buddhist painting. Although born a commoner, he also cultivated the literati arts of poetry and calligraphy. He studied Chan Buddhism and eventually became a Buddhist priest himself. Full biography →
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
Condition
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