Water Village
Medium
handscroll; ink and light color on paper
Dimensions
26.7 × 183 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
Accession Number
1985.370
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
In the autumn of 1570, Wen Boren painted this seemingly unemotional scene of low-lying marshlands with a chain of rounded mountains in the background. A fishing boat is nestled on the shore near the village. Although paths and bridges traverse the landscape, only two people are visible in the stillness. From the restrained atmosphere of this landscape, one would never guess that Wen Boren was known as the “bad boy” of the Wu School for his explosive temper. As a younger man, he was even embroile...