Artwork Page for Xu Jingyang Moving His Family

Details / Information for Xu Jingyang Moving His Family

Xu Jingyang Moving His Family

許旌陽移居圖

1644
(Chinese, 1574–1644)
Measurements
Overall: 268.2 x 66 cm (105 9/16 x 26 in.); Painting only: 165.3 x 64 cm (65 1/16 x 25 3/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 268.2 x 74.1 cm (105 9/16 x 29 3/16 in.)
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Xu Jingyang, wearing red, is in the upper register of figures, while below his servants transport a rooster, dog, and other supplies.

Description

Xu Jingyang was a dedicated fourth-century Confucian official who allegedly turned into a Daoist immortal. This scroll depicts the legend that when he attained immortality, he took his entire household, including chickens and dogs, to paradise.

Cui Zizhong’s painting style intentionally referenced ancient masters. Typical of the pre-Song dynasty landscape tradition, there is the use of blue and green colors and an emphasis on outline rather than texture. While the trembling outlines are reminiscent of earlier painters, the flickering light on rocks and trees is a stylistic feature of Cui’s own time.
A vertically oriented hanging scroll depicts undulating tan cliffs marked by black dashes conveying moss, with a thin waterfall descending through the rocks. In the center, a figure in a red robe rides a white ox, leading a group along a path. Below, gnarled trees with green foliage frame figures rendered through brief brushstrokes. The composition uses muted colors and towering vertical forms to guide the eye through the landscape.

Xu Jingyang Moving His Family

1644

Cui Zizhong

(Chinese, 1574–1644)
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

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