Pure sanctuary with pine grown stairs

On a rocky promontory, the unassuming buildings of a Buddhist or Daoist monastic complex overlook the placid waters of a lake. Narrow steps lead up the slope to a smaller building hidden among tall pines. Conforming to Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) practice, the main composition is concentrated into one corner, while the remainder of the picture space is given over to water, atmospheric effects, and vague landscape forms in the distance. This deftly rendered painting is a close copy of an extant fan attributed to the twelfth-century court artist, Yan Ciping. Technical aspects of the brushwork and certain differences in detail from the older version suggest a late-fifteenth-century date of execution.