Traveling at Dawn in the Mountains after Snow
Chinese
Description
Braving fresh snow, a traveler on horseback departs from
a mountain hostel accompanied by three servants. Their
heads turn back toward the gate, as if they are listening
to the hostel-keeper’s farewell. The artist uses the clever
convention of not showing the soles of the servants’ shoes
to suggest they are buried in deep snow. The painting
accurately presents how an esteemed scholar traveled in this
period. The shutong, or boy servant, carrying luggage would
have functioned as an attendant in the scholar’s study and
was in charge of the scholar’s books, stationery, musical
instruments, bedding, and garments. Two adult servants also
accompanied the scholar to guarantee his safety.
The subject of the painting is taken from the work of the
eminent artist Dai Jin (1388–1462), founder of the Zhe School
of professional painters traditionally associated with the
imperial academy. This was one of the two main painting
schools of the Ming period, the other being the literati
(amateur scholar-artist) Wu School, established by
Shen Zhou (1427–1509).
Fall 2015 Gallery Rotation
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Six collectors’ seals, including an imperial seal of the Ming dynasty emperor Xuande (reigned 1426–1435)
Braving fresh snow, a traveler on horseback departs from a mountain hostel accompanied by three servants. The artist uses the clever convention of omitting the soles of the servants’ shoes to suggest they are buried in deep snow. This popular composition is based on the work of the eminent artist Dai Jin (1388–1462), founder of the Zhe School of Ming painting, named for his home province of Zhejiang. It is one of the two main schools of Ming dynasty painting, the other being the Wu School established by literati artist Shen Zhou in Suzhou.
Subject Matter:
A traveler on horseback, likely a scholar, departs a mountain hostel. The traveler is accopanied by three servants, one of which is a shutong, or boy servant who would have been in charge of the scholar's books, writing implements, garments, and other things. The snow is very deep as the feet of the servants are not visible.
Physical Description:
Travelers cross a bridge over a river. A figure is seen in the gateway of the establishment, and another figure walks towards the bridge carrying an umbrella or staff. The entire scene is set with a view of mountains in the background.
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