Li Bai gazing at the waterfall on Mount Lu
Nearly three hundred years after the death of the Song academician Ma Yuan (act. ca. 1190–1225), a Ming emperor proudly declared Zhong Li to be Ma Yuan reborn. Indeed, Zhong's works, painted in a typically bold, breezy, almost contemptuous manner, represent the end of the Ma Yuan tradition. Brought to this level of large-scale power, directness, and nearly total absence of subtlety or nuance, the tradition of Ma Yuan perhaps could not evolve further. Zhong Li was among the last great court painters in this lineage.
This strongly painted composition, the best known of Zhong Li's signed works, is a classic Ming academic-style picture; it continues Dai Jin's (1388–1462) monumental refiguration of the Southern Song academic manner. The interior dynamics are even more spectacular than in earlier works in the tradition, from the explosive energies of the plunging waterfall and dramatically towering cliff face to the twisted pines coiling out like springs from the stone walls. There is also something quite imperial in the pose of the seated figure on the garden terrace, leaning back like the master of his universe to observe the potent forces of nature as they conduct a special performance for him alone.
This strongly painted composition, the best known of Zhong Li's signed works, is a classic Ming academic-style picture; it continues Dai Jin's (1388–1462) monumental refiguration of the Southern Song academic manner. The interior dynamics are even more spectacular than in earlier works in the tradition, from the explosive energies of the plunging waterfall and dramatically towering cliff face to the twisted pines coiling out like springs from the stone walls. There is also something quite imperial in the pose of the seated figure on the garden terrace, leaning back like the master of his universe to observe the potent forces of nature as they conduct a special performance for him alone.
Artwork Details
- 明 鍾禮 觀瀑圖 軸
- Title: Li Bai gazing at the waterfall on Mount Lu
- Artist: Zhong Li (Chinese, active ca. 1480–1500)
- Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Date: late 15th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions: Image: 70 x 40 5/8 in. (177.8 x 103.2 cm)
Overall with mounting: 10 ft. 5 1/2 in. × 49 5/8 in. (318.8 × 126 cm)
Overall with knobs: 10 ft. 5 1/2 in. × 53 1/4 in. (318.8 × 135.3 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: From the P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Family Collection, Gift of Oscar L. Tang, 1991
- Object Number: 1991.438.4
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
Audio
7421. Scholar Looking at a Waterfall
0:00
0:00
We're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. Please email info@metmuseum.org to request a transcript for this track.
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Tibet
late 15th century
Unidentified artist
16th century
Unidentified artist
late 15th–early 16th century
Unidentified artist
ca. 1551
Wu Bin
dated 1591
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.