Clearing Out a Mountain Forest
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1917.184
Tags
About this artwork
To 1917
Art Historical Context
"Clearing Out a Mountain" is a captivating 15th-century Chinese painting from the Ming dynasty (136–1644), once attributed to the Song dynasty artist Li Song (active late 12th–early 13th century). Though the attribution has since been revised, the work exemplifies the precise *baimiao* (white-outline) style, a technique favored in Chinese figure painting for its meticulous ink lines and subtle washes that create vivid, almost sculptural forms. This method highlights dynamic scenes with clarity and elegance, bridging scholarly traditions and popular storytelling. The painting likely depicts a ...