Fishermen-Hermits in Stream and Mountain

Also known as: Fisherman-Hermit in Stream and Mountain

About the Artwork

In this typical southern two shores divided by a river composition, two fishermen, each seated in the stern of his covered houseboat, troll their hooks in the swirling water, holding short rods fitted with spooling reels. Zhao Yong was a son of the southern calligrapher and statesman Zhao Mengfu, who, like his father was a scholar-official in the Mongol-Yuan government. As public servants of the Yuan state and administration, scholar-artists like the Zhaos delighted in paintings that pictured them in nature as fishermen amid vistas of Jiangnan, which they considered their home.

Inscriptions

仲穆; [印] 吳興張氏圖書之記; [印] 心賞; [印] 張珩私印

Provenance

Zhao Shuru 趙叔孺 [1874–1945] by 1947–before 1956: Zhang Heng 張珩 [1915–1963] ?–1956: (C. T. Loo & Co., New York, NY, sold to Mr. and Mrs. A. Dean Perry) 1956–1997: Mr. A. Dean and Mrs. Helen Wade Greene Perry [1911–1996], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1997–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-November 24, 1968). Ji Yun-Fei: Last Days of Village Wen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-July 31, 2016). 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: Zhao Yong (Chinese, c. 1289-c. 1362)
Date: 1300s
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Painting: 85.5 x 42.5 cm (33 11/16 x 16 3/4 in.); Overall with knobs: 229 x 70 cm (90 3/16 x 27 9/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession no.: 1997.93

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