Peaks near the Cloud Boat residence

Little is known of the early life of Jiangsu-born monk-painter Xuezhuang, but some sources indicate that he passed through Nanjing in the 1670s. Once he had settled in the Yellow Mountains (Huangshan) of Anhui province in the late 1680s, he established a residence he called the Cloud Boat (Yunfang). The name referred to the “sea of clouds” that would sweep into the higher elevations and transform the scenery into a magical vista of floating spires. This painting, which Xuezhuang described as an image of “the peaks to the right of the Cloud Boat,” captures the majesty of that view in his unique style, typified by dry contour lines, broad washes of light ink, and repetitive hatching marks for texture.