Pillars of the Country
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), 1494
Medium
Handscroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
29.9 × 759.5 cm (11 3/4 × 299 in.)
Classification
hanging scroll
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
79507
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Together with those of a riverscape, rocks, flowers, and branches of cedar and bamboo, the magpie is one of six images painted by Yao Shou along the length of this handscroll. This work represents a genre of painting known as “bird-and-fl ower” that prized realism and refined compositions. Yao’s vision, however, was far more personal if seemingly simpler. He rendered the magpie almost entirely in varied tones of black ink; the branches are accented with darker twigs and dotted leaves; and the ba...