Moonlit terrace
Chinese landscape paintings often depict night scenes, but the signals of darkness can be subtle. In this painting, a gentleman looks out from a low terrace onto a small stream that runs through his garden. Follow his gaze to three red candles at the left of the composition. These, along with the barely visible circle in the sky at upper right, reveal that our protagonist has come to revel in the cool evening breeze and the glimmer of moonlight on the water.
Artwork Details
- 明/清 佚名 舊傳 元張可觀 月映松臺圖 冊頁
- Title: Moonlit terrace
- Artist: Unidentified Artist, 17th century
- Artist: Traditionally attributed to Zhang Keguan (Chinese, active ca. 1350)
- Period: Ming (1368–1644) or Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 17th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Album leaf; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions: 10 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (26.7 x 24.8 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913
- Object Number: 13.100.106
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Unidentified
19th century
Unidentified
16th–17th century
Unidentified
ca. 1820–35
Unidentified
ca. 1895
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ca. 1885
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