Collection
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Asian Art

An Old Man Walking by a Stream, with Distant Mountains

Wu Li

1 of 7

Object Label

Wu Li, an acclaimed Qing dynasty painter, expressed himself through the styles of a select lineage of past artists. Here, sparse trees and an empty pavilion allude to Ni Zan (1301–1374), but Wu Li has reworked the dry, sketchy style of the Yuan dynasty master by incorporating loose, moist brushstrokes to create a richer tonality. Wu Li’s reinterpretation may have been influenced by an increasing awareness of Western artistic techniques, such as chiaroscuro and one-point perspective. Wu Li converted to Christianity in the 1670s, allowing him close contact with the missionaries who brought new images and skills to China from the West.

Caption

Wu Li (Chinese, 1632–1718). An Old Man Walking by a Stream, with Distant Mountains, 1706. Ink and color on paper, image: 50 3/4 x 13 1/2 in. (128.9 x 34.3 cm) mount: 22 3/4 x 100 in. (57.8 x 254 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Asian Art Council, 1990.71. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Asian Art

Artist

Wu Li

Title

An Old Man Walking by a Stream, with Distant Mountains

Date

1706

Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

Period

Qing Dynasty

Geography

Place made: China

Medium

Ink and color on paper

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

image: 50 3/4 x 13 1/2 in. (128.9 x 34.3 cm) mount: 22 3/4 x 100 in. (57.8 x 254 cm)

Signatures

Signed: "Mojing daoren Wu Li"

Inscriptions

"Lonely old trees lean on a riverbank. new wabes hit the foot of rocks. Distant mountains hold the sunset, there is nobody in the autumn shadow of a thatched pavilion."

Markings

Inscribed with a poem, with two seals of the artist and five deals of various collectors.

Credit Line

Gift of the Asian Art Council

Accession Number

1990.71

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Artists and makers

Wu Li

1 work in the collection