Pine and Brook
16th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1916.68
Tags
About this artwork
To 1916
Art Historical Context
**Pine and Brook** is a captivating 16th-century Chinese painting from the Ming dynasty1368–1644), evoking the serene beauty of nature through its depiction of towering mountains, a resilient pine tree, and aandering river or brook. Created during a golden age of Chinese art, literati painters emphasized harmony between humans and the cosmos, this anonymous work exemplifies the era's fascination with vast, mist-shrouded vistas. Such landscapes weren't mere scenery; they symbolized enduring virtues—pines for longevity and resilience, mountains for stability, and flowing waters for life's contin...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...