Autumn foliage and birds
Formerly attributed to Cui Bai (active mid- to late 11th century)
14th-15th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1919.154
Tags
Charles Lang Freer collectionChinaChinese ArtMing dynasty (1368 - 1644)Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)autumnbirdbird and flower
About this artwork
A magpie is perched atop a tree to which a few sparse autumn leaves still cling. Two songbirds sit on the thorns below. The composition of this unsigned painting is based on Song dynasty (906-1279) conventions, but on the whole it is too open and loosely organized to be an exact copy. The relatively tight, descriptive brushwork dates stylistically to the Yuan (1279-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644).