Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds, Poem by Wang Wei

Also known as: Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds

About the Artwork

Poem and painting, once mounted together as one fan, exemplify the collaboration between imperial patron and court painter. Emperor Lizong’s calligraphy cites a verse from Wang Wei’s (701–761) poem, Walking to where the water ends, I sit and watch when clouds arise. Ma Lin’s response is this painting. At the water’s edge, a scholar reclines by a large rock. The view leads across the empty middle ground to a distant mountain. With sparse ink and subtly graded washes, Ma Lin visualizes the poetic verse. The painting suggests the impact of Chan aesthetics through interaction between the palace, literati-officials, and monasteries around Hangzhou.

Inscriptions

臣馬麟; 2 seals on mounting of Chu Sheng-chai (20th c.).

Provenance

?–1961: (Nagatani, Inc., Chicago, IL, sold the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1961–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962). Tea Taste in Japanese Art. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (February 20-April 21, 1963). Wang Chi-ch'ien, Album Leaves from the Sung and Yuan Dynasties. China House Gallery (organizer) (March 26-May 30, 1970). The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974). 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). Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982). Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992). West Lake and the Mapping of Southern Song Art. China Institute in America, New York, NY (organizer) (September 13-December 9, 2001). Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 13, 2018-February 3, 2019). China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).

Quick Overview

Artist: Ma Lin (Chinese, c. 1185–after 1260)
Date: c. 1256
Medium: Album leaf; ink on silk
Dimensions: Image: 25.1 x 25.3 cm (9 7/8 x 9 15/16 in.); with mat: 33.3 x 40.5 cm (13 1/8 x 15 15/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 1961.421.1

More by Ma Lin in museum collections

Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds; Poem by Wang Wei
Ma Lin
c. 1256 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009333
Landscape with Flying Geese
Ma Lin
mid-1200s · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009901

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.