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Old Trees, Level Distance

Guo Xi Chinese
ca. 1080
Not on view
Guo Xi, the preeminent landscape painter of the late eleventh century, sought to give form to poetic images and emotions and was particularly interested in conveying the nuances of seasons and times of day. Old Trees, Level Distance,a variation on the classic “level-distance” formula of tall foreground trees set against a wide river valley, is probably a late work done for a fellow government official on the eve of his retirement. In the final section of the handscroll, the leafless trees and deepening mist impart a forlorn, autumnal air to a scene in which two elderly figures approach a pavilion, perhaps to join colleagues in bidding farewell to a friend.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 北宋　郭熙　樹色平遠圖　卷
  • Title: Old Trees, Level Distance
  • Artist: Guo Xi (Chinese, ca. 1000–ca. 1090)
  • Period: Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
  • Date: ca. 1080
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Handscroll; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 14 × 41 1/8 in. (35.6 × 104.4 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 14 3/4 in. × 28 ft. 1/8 in. (37.5 × 853.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of John M. Crawford Jr., in honor of Douglas Dillon, 1981
  • Object Number: 1981.276
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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7440. Old Trees, Level Distance

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