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Crows and Bare Trees in Winter

late 13th or early 14th century
Not on view
In this small landscape, groves of straight trees stand in snow. A pale, thin river threads its way to the horizon. This painting and others of austere wintry scenes may reflect the traditional Chinese belief that the natural world responds to human affairs. The twelfth-century historian Liu Zheng commented.

The feelings of mountains and streams, grasses
and trees, are not far from those of humans,
and it is wrong to think of them as non sentient.
That a stream should dry up in times
of disorder is an ordinary, natural reaction.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 元 佚名 古木寒鴉圖 團扇
  • Title: Crows and Bare Trees in Winter
  • Artist: Unidentified artist Chinese
  • Period: Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
  • Date: late 13th or early 14th century
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Overall with mounting: 16 3/8 x 14 11/16 in. (41.6 x 37.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1982
  • Object Number: 1982.46
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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