Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds, Poem by Wang Wei

坐看雲起圖

c. 1256

Ma Lin 馬麟

(Chinese, c. 1185–after 1260)
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.)
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Location: not on view

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Description

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, Walking to where the water ends, I sit and watch when clouds arise.

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.
Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds, Poem by Wang Wei

Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds, Poem by Wang Wei

c. 1256

Ma Lin

(Chinese, c. 1185–after 1260)
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

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