Waterfowl and Reeds
early 1200s
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on silk
Dimensions
painting only: 23.4 × 23.5 cm · overall with knobs: 108 × 42.4 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1984.42
Tags
About this artwork
This album leaf now mounted as a hanging scroll is attributed to the 13th-century artist Liang Kai, who served for a time in the Southern Song court as a court painter. In recognition of Liang’s outstanding talent, Emperor Ningzong (reigned 1195–1224) granted him the “Gold Belt,” the highest honor reserved for court painters. The artist, however, left his prestigious position in pursuit of the simple life in Buddhist monasteries. The so-called one-corner composition (leaving empty space on one s...