Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009567Landscape Album in Various Styles: The Stream of Wuling
by Zha Shibiao
Also known as: Landscape Album in Various Styles: the Stream of Wu-ling; Album of Seasonal Landscapes 四季山水圖冊
About the Artwork
At age 68, Zha Shibiao painted this album with seasonal landscapes in various styles. Painted in fresh colors and wet strokes, all depict typical scenes of Jiangnan. The mention of Wuling in the inscription signals the “Peach Blossom Spring,” but Zha Shibiao purposefully left out all the accepted iconography for that story: a lone fisherman, cave entrance, and village of hermits. Instead, two men in separate boats are engaged in conversation. Could they be talking about the way to the Peach Blossom Spring, or could one of them be that fisherman blessed by his unintended visit but no longer able to find his way back again? Around them unfolds a lyrical landscape, with willows along the shores, an empty pavilion, a wide-open lake surface, and endless distant hills.
Inscriptions
Artist's inscription, signature, and seal: The stream of Wuling. Zha Shibiao [seal] Shibiao.
Provenance
Ma Yueguan 馬曰琯 [1688–1755] Ding Huikang 丁惠康 [1868/1869–about 1918] and Gu Anmi 顧安宓 ?-1955: (C. T. Loo & Co., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1955-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
When Salt was Gold: Yangzhou, City of Riches and Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 12-November 5, 2023).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Zha Shibiao (Chinese, 1615–1698)
- Date
- 1684
- Medium
- album leaf, ink and light color on paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 29.9 x 39.4 cm (11 3/4 x 15 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
- Accession no.
- 1955.37.4
More by Zha Shibiao in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009567
Powered by Art Trackers