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Clouds Visiting a Mountain Retreat
by Tao Hong
About the Artwork
Little is known about Tao Hong who settled in Nanking in the latter part of his life. His son was a friend of the leading Nanjing school artist Gong Xian (on display nearby). When the Ming dynasty collapsed in 1644, Tao joined the loyalist resistance in Yunnan province. By 1645 the Manchu invaders had defeated the Yunnanese forces, prompting Tao to flee to Burma, where he died shortly thereafter. Only five of Tao Hong’s works are known to exist, of which this painting is the largest.
Inscriptions
Artist's inscription, signature and two seals: Imitating Kao Fan-shan's [Kao K'o-kung's] brush at Liu-yün-ho [Valley of Lingering Clouds] during a spring day in the kuei-yu year [1633]. Yen-shan, T'ao Hung [seals] T'ao Hung chih-yin; tzu Ch'iu-shui. (Translated by Wai-Kam Ho); 1 additional seal unidentified.
Provenance
?–1971: (Hsien-chi Tseng 曾憲七 [1919–2000], Boston, MA and New Hampshire, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1971–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972). 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). Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982). 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).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Tao Hong (Chinese, active c. 1610–1640)
- Date
- 1633
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink on silk
- Dimensions
- Painting: 176.4 x 101 cm (69 7/16 x 39 3/4 in.); Overall with knobs: 290 x 121.3 cm (114 3/16 x 47 3/4 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
- Accession no.
- 1971.19
More by Tao Hong 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-00009851
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