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Flight of Geese

A work made of hanging scroll; ink and color on silk.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of hanging scroll; ink and color on silk.

Date:

Late Yuan (1279–1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

Artist:

Artist unknown (Chinese, 14th century?)

About this artwork

This landscape is precisely rendered in a detailed manner that blends the Song dynasty (960-1279) tradition with newer stylistic elements. It also combines standard motifs of the landscape and flower-and-bird genres. Scattered across the foreground are mandarin ducks, lotus, and bamboo, a traditional grouping drawn from flower-and-bird painting of the Song dynasty. But the trees growing from the right side of the same area are treated in a contemporary, early fourteenth century manner. These trees lead the eye upward into the middle distance, where geese taking flight over rushes signify autumn, a seasonal reference confirmed by the bare treetops. The touches of color used to highlight various forms in the foreground, and the blue-green coloring applied to some of the rocks, are both archaizing features that emulate painting of the Tang dynasty (618-907). In the background are monumental mountain forms, convincingly portrayed as if shrouded in mist, derived from the Song landscape tradition.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Title

Flight of Geese

Place

China (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1279–1644

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Dimensions

64.8 × 38.1 cm (25 1/2 × 15 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of The Orientals

Reference Number

1953.439

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/79716/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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