明　吳彬　翠壁丹楓　扇|Azure Cliff with Red Maples

Wu Bin

1603 · Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

A solitary figure with a walking staff stands atop a low cliff contemplating a mountain vista. This scene of human encounter with nature is accompanied by a verse by the celebrated Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu (712–770), inscribed by the painter: The azure cliff catches the breeze, a lone cloud thin, Red maples, their backs to the sun, ten thousand trees dense. —Translation by Stephen Owen

Artist

Wu Bin

Date

1603

Medium

Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913