Spring Landscape

Also known as: Wandering Through the Mountains and Forgetting the Years; Spring Landscape 春景圖; Strolling Companions in the Autumn Mountains

About the Artwork

One of the acclaimed "Four Monks" (the other three being Zhu Da, Daoji, and Hongren), Kuncan was known for the rough and rustic style of his landscape paintings. This painting was once part of a large album, painted at the request of his friend Cheng Zhengkui (active 1630–74), with whom he shared a common interest in painting and poetry. The inscription contains a poem, which reads: Wandering through mountains and oblivious of time, We met in casual shoes (and attires). The wind and dew drops harbor a chilling emptiness. Only with patience and silence can the Chan inspiration come. . . .

Inscriptions

遊山忘歲月，屐舄自相過。風露寒虚意，禪機靜裡磨。同年叩梵宇，遂此老煙蘿。豈向人間說，林丘自在多。畫必師古，書亦如之。觀人亦然，况六法乎。石谿殘道人印二：石谿，白秃。另有「介丘」一印在右邊。

Exhibition history

Fantastics and Eccentrics in Chinese Painting. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (March 23-May 28, 1967); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (June 20-August 13, 1967); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA (September 15-November 5, 1967). Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967). 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).

Quick Overview

Artist: Kuncan (Chinese, 1612–c. 1673)
Date: 1666
Medium: double album leaf mounted as a handscroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Overall: 31.8 x 64.5 cm (12 1/2 x 25 3/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession no.: 1966.367

Provenance

Gao Yong 高邕 [1850–1921] Xu Xiaopu 徐小圃 [1887–1961] Walter Hochstadter [1914–2007], New York, NY, ?–1966: (N. V. Hammer, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1966–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

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