Accession Number
1978/1.163

Title
Blue-and-green landscape handscroll

Artist(s)
Tao Cheng

Object Creation Date
1470

Medium & Support
handscroll, ink and color on silk

Dimensions
11 15/16 in x 138 ½ in (30.32 cm x 351.79 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Label copy
Among the rolling green mountains, figures in this scroll go about their lives, leading cattle to drink along the riverside and dangling fishing lines over the edge of small boats in hopes of catching something for dinner. The luminous greens and blues in this handscroll are derived from mineral and azurite pigments, whose iridescent qualities add to the radiance of the work. Such blue-and-green landscape technique was typically practiced by court painters, and this scroll includes a red oval-shaped seal indicating that it was a part of the collection of Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795).
Blue-and-green landscape painting often also incorporates highlights of red pigment, and in this scroll adds brilliance to a grove of trees near the middle of the section displayed. The detail work in the trees is spectacular, with twisted and knotted trunks that seem to refuse to stand upright, but bend against gravity, in some cases revealing networks of tangled roots.
exhibited summer 2010
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The luminous greens and blues in this handscroll are derived from mineral and azurite pigments, whose iridescent qualities add to the radiance of the work. This blue-and-green landscape technique was typically practiced by court painters. Blue-and-green landscape painting often also incorporates highlights of red pigment, which in this scroll adds brilliance to a grove of trees near the middle. The trees are particularly detailed, with twisted and knotted trunks that seem to refuse to stand upright, bending against gravity and in some cases revealing networks of tangled roots.
(6/28/10)
(Chinese Gallery Rotation, Spring 2010)

Subject matter
The luminous greens and blues in this handscroll are derived from mineral and azurite pigments, adding to the overall shine and radiance of the work. Blue-and-green landscape technique was typically orchestrated by court painters, and this scroll includes a red oval-shaped seal indicating that it was a part of the collection of Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795).

Physical Description
Among the rolling green mountains, figures in this scroll go about their lives, leading cattle to drink along the riverside and dangling fishing lines over the edge of small boats in hopes of catching something for dinner. Highlights of red pigment add brilliance to a grove of trees near the middle of the scroll. The detail work in the trees is spectacular, with twisted and knotted trunks that seem to refuse to stand upright, but bend against gravity, in some cases revealing networks of tangled roots.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
handscroll

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
fishing
hills
landscapes (environments)
mountains
people (agents)
trees