Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang
Medium
handscroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
15.7 × 289.5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Sherman E. Lee in memory of John D. Rockefeller, 3rd
Accession Number
1979.77
Tags
male
About this artwork
Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers can be traced to 11th-century Chinese poems and paintings, the depiction of which had also become popular among Korean and Japanese painters. Xiao-Xiang refers to the region in present-day Hunan province where the Xiao and Xiang rivers converge. Few painters of the Eight Views had in fact seen the scenery; rather, they were trying to portray in ink and wash the lyrical qualities of dim light and a misty atmosphere typical of that region. Each of the poeti...