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Scholar viewing a waterfall

Ma Yuan Chinese
early 13th century
Not on view
Ma Yuan, a fourth-generation member of a family of painters, was a leading artist at the Southern Song painting academy in Hangzhou. A city of unsurpassed beauty, Hangzhou was graced with pavilions, gardens, and scenic vistas. In this album leaf, which shows a gentleman in a gardenlike setting, the jagged rhythms of the pine tree and garden contrast with the quiet mood of the scholar, who gazes pensively into the bubbling rapids of the cascade.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 南宋　馬遠 高士觀瀑圖　冊頁
  • Title: Scholar viewing a waterfall
  • Artist: Ma Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1190–1225)
  • Period: Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
  • Date: early 13th century
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Album leaf; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 9 7/8 x 10 1/4 in. (25.1 x 26 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973
  • Object Number: 1973.120.9
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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