Poem by Wang Wei in the Cursive Script Style
- Medium
- Album leaf; ink on silk
- Dimensions
- Image: 25.1 x 25.3 cm (9 7/8 x 9 15/16 in.); with mat: 33.3 x 40.5 cm (13 1/8 x 15 15/16 in.)
- Genre
- calligraphy
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Styles
Tags
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
About
Poem and painting, once mounted together as one fan, exemplify the collaboration between imperial patron and court painter. Emperor Lizong’s calligraphy cites a verse from Wang Wei’s (701–761) poem, <em>Walking to where the water ends, I sit and watch when clouds arise</em>.<br><br>Ma Lin’s response is this painting. At the water’s edge, a scholar reclines by a large rock. The view leads across the empty middle ground to a distant mountain. With sparse ink and subtly graded washes, Ma Lin visualizes the poetic verse. The painting suggests the impact of Chan aesthetics through interaction between the palace, literati-officials, and monasteries around Hangzhou.<br><br>The leaf facing Emperor Lizong’s calligraphy has an inscription by Zhang Daqian (1899–1983).
