The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds; Poem by Wang Wei

Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds; Poem by Wang Wei

c. 1256
(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.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Ma Lin was the son of Ma Yuan, the artist renowned for his unique composition and often referred to as "One-corner Ma."

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.
  • ?–1961
    (Nagatani, Inc., Chicago, IL, sold the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1961–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. Tea Taste in Japanese Art. New York, NY: The Asia House Gallery, dist. by H. Abrams, 1963. Mentioned: cat. no. 1, p. 94; Reproduced: cat. no. 1, p. 13
    Lee, Sherman E. and Wai-Kam Ho. "Scattered Pearls beyond the Ocean." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Feb., 1964), p. 23-39. Reproduced: p. 23-39, cat. no. 5 & 6 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 259 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 259 archive.org
    Wang, Chi-chʻien. Album Leaves from the Sung and Yuan Dynasties: [Exhibition], March 26 Through May 30, 1970. New York: The [China House] Gallery, 1970. Reproduced: cat. no.35
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 342 archive.org
    Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: p. 72, cat. no. 57.
    Harrist, Robert E. Jr. "'Watching Clouds Rise': A Tang Dynasty Couplet and Its Illustration in Song Painting." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Vol. 78, No. 7 (Nov., 1991), p. 301-323. Reproduced: p. 301-323, fig. 1 & 2 www.jstor.org
    Murray, Julia K. Ma Hezhi and the Illustration of the Book of Odes. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1993. p. 156, fig. 75
    Cahill, James. The Lyric Journey: Poetic Painting in China and Japan. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Univ. Press, 1996. Reproduced: p. 30, no. 1.23
    Murck, Alfreda. Poetry and Painting in Song China: The Subtle Art of Dissent. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute, 2000. Reproduced: p. 200, fig. 46
    Shimada, Hidemasa, and Fujio Nakazawa. Nansō, Kin. Tōkyō: Shōgakukan, 2000. p. 330, no. 261
    Pegg, Richard A. Sheng Maoye: Painting and Poetry in Late Ming Suzhou. PhD diss., Columbia University, 2001. Reproduced: p. 274, fig. 46 b
    Li, Huishu. Exquisite Moments: West Lake & Southern Song Art. New York, NY: China Institute Gallery, China Institute: Distributed by Art Media Resources, Ltd., 2001. Reproduced: pp. 104-105, cat. no. 23
    Schorre, Jane, and Carrin Dunne. Yijing Wondering and Wandering. Houston, Tex: Arts of China Seminars, 2004. Reproduced: p. 159
    Edwards, Richard. The Heart of Ma Yuan: The Search for a Southern Song Aesthetic. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2011. p. 257, fig. 8.21; xii, pl. 60a.
    Weitz, Ankeney. “The Vocabulary of Fashion: Word-Image Play in Southern Song Painted Fans,” National Palace Museum Bulletin 44 (Oct, 2011), 39-48. Reproduced: p. 39-48, fig. 4
  • China's Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
    Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 13, 2018-February 3, 2019).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 120). The Cleveland Museum of Art, OH (July 22-October 26, 2003).
    West Lake and the Mapping of Southern Song Art. China Institute Gallery, New York, NY (organizer) (September 13-December 9, 2001).
    Fans: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 15, 1992-March 7, 1993).
    Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
    Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
    Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).
    The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974).
    Wang Chi-ch'ien, Album Leaves from the Sung and Yuan Dynasties. China House Gallery (organizer) (March 26-May 30, 1970).
    Tea Taste in Japanese Art. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (February 20-April 21, 1963).
    Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).
  • {{cite web|title=Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds; Poem by Wang Wei|url=false|author=Ma Lin|year=c. 1256|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1961.421