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About the Artwork
Dong Qichang radically transforms the landscape composition into a purely abstract design. He organizes the mountain forms to achieve an overall sense of structure, activating the flow of energy (qi) and the momentum of force (shi) throughout the pictorial design. In his art, brush and ink assume life independent of the depicted forms, so that the painting can be appreciated for “the sheer marvels of brush and ink.”
Inscriptions
Artist's first inscription, signature, and 2 seals: A painting of the Qingbian Mountains in the manner of Beiyuan [Dong Yuan]. In the summer of the dingsi year [1617], on the last day of the fifth month, [I] send this to my senior, Zhang Shenqi. Dong Xuanzai [seals] Zhi zhi hao ri jiang guan 知制誥日講官; Dong Qichang yin 董其昌印.; Artist's second inscription and signature: Piling irons for ten thousand feet guard the purple sky; Where puppies are seen on top of clouds, villages and marketplaces lie. In the splendor of autumn, where is the most worthy spot to spend the day? Amid the rustling sounds of mountain streams, with a volume in hand, meditating on the Way [Dao]. Inscribed by Qichang. (Translation by Wai-Kam Ho and Ling-yün (Nora) Shih Liu); 4 additional seals: 3 of Li Enqing 李恩慶 (jinshi of 1833); 1 of Weng Wan-go 翁萬戈 (1918–2020).
Provenance
1800s: Li Enqing 李恩慶 [19th century] ?–1980: (Wan-go H. C. Weng 翁萬戈 [1918–2020], Lyme, NH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1980–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
1000 Jahre Chinesische Malerei. Haus der Kunst, Munich, Mùnich, Germany (organizer) (October 16-December 13, 1959). Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982); The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (December 3, 1982-February 28, 1983). Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981). Mountains, Rocks, and Water: Landscape Painting in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-December 13, 1987). Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998). Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 27-August 23, 2009). Chinese Landscape Duets of Arnold Chang and Michael Cherney. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 12, 2015-February 7, 2016). The Arts of Dong Qichang. Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China (organizer) (December 7, 2018-March 10, 2019).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Dong Qichang (Chinese, 1555–1636)
- Date
- 1617
- Medium
- hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Painting: 225 x 67.6 cm (88 9/16 x 26 5/8 in.); Overall: 355 x 92.7 cm (139 3/4 x 36 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Accession no.
- 1980.10
More by Dong Qichang in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009319
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