Listening to the Zither Among Streams and Pines

Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Not on view

Xie Shichen was a versatile artist whose paintings share features of both the Zhe School professionals and the Suzhou scholar-artists. Xie's "hemp-fiber" texture strokes and dark foliage dots derive from the eminent Suzhou amateur Shen Zhou (1427–1509), but his monumental composition, narrative subject matter, and bold brushwork owe more to the Nanjing professional Wu Wei (1459–1508). In this painting, a pair of scholars on a spring outing have paused to admire a blossoming plum tree that grows beneath the sheltering branches of an ancient pine. The nearby mountain torrent flows out of a deep valley where dense white clouds obscure the lower halves of precipitous peaks, including the towering central monolith whose position along the painting's vertical axis serves as an anchor to the entire composition. To the left of the peak, Xie inscribed a seven-character quatrain along with his signature.

Artwork Details

明傳謝時臣松溪琴客圖軸
Title: Listening to the Zither Among Streams and Pines
Artist: Xie Shichen (Chinese, 1487–ca. 1567)
Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Culture: China
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Image: 55 1/2 x 28 in. (141 x 71.1 cm)
Overall with mounting: 124 x 36 in. (315 x 91.4 cm)
Overall with knobs: 124 x 38 3/4 in. (315 x 98.4 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Edward Elliott Family Collection, Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1982
Object Number: 1982.1.9a, b
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Xie Shichen

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Landscape with Figure, Xie Shichen Chinese, Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on gold paper, China — Landscape with Figure
Xie Shichen

Spring Morning in the Mountains, Xie Shichen Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, China — Spring Morning in the Mountains
Xie Shichen

Spring Landscape with Plum Blossoms, Scholar and Deer, Xie Shichen Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, China — Spring Landscape with Plum Blossoms, Scholar and Deer
Xie Shichen
dated 1548

Landscapes of the Four Seasons, Xie Shichen Chinese, Set of four hanging scrolls; ink and color on paper, China — Landscapes of the Four Seasons
Xie Shichen
dated 1560

Sadaksari-Lokeshvara Surrounded by Manifestations and Monks, Distemper, gold and ink on cloth, Tibet — Sadaksari-Lokeshvara Surrounded by Manifestations and Monks
Tibet
late 15th century

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