Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Search the Mountain: Leaf 41
Unknown Artist
1200s
Medium
Album, ink on paper
Dimensions
35 × 39.9 cm · painting: 34.3 × 38.5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou and Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange)
Accession Number
2004.1.41
About this artwork
The principal—and largest—figure in this leaf depicts Erlang, a celestial commander in a popular myth. Here he wears full armor and holds his sword. Seated by a pine tree, he orders his celestial army to rid Mt. Guankou of the undesirable creatures in the wilderness, including a wolf, a small alligator, and a monkey dressed in human clothes. This subject was first painted by a Northern Song artist, Gao Yi, and remained popular through the Southern Song period and during the Ming dynasty. In this...