The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

The Haven of the Peach-Blossom Spring

The Haven of the Peach-Blossom Spring

mid-1400s

attributed to Shi Rui

(Chinese, c. 1400-c. 1470)
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Album leaf; ink and slight color on silk
Image: 24.7 x 22.2 cm (9 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.); Overall: 66.7 x 40.4 cm (26 1/4 x 15 7/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1952.283
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Some fifty inhabitants of the Peach Blossom Spring gather in a small clearing surrounded by thatched huts and cottages.

Description

A miniature inspired by the “Peach Blossom Spring,” this painting illustrates the well-known tale written by the poet-recluse Tao Yuanming (365–427 CE), in which a fisherman accidentally discovers a hidden utopian village where residents live in harmony, untouched by the outside world's troubles. While the painting lacks a signature, scholars concur on its attribution to Shi Rui, evident from the dynamic landscape and the effortlessly rendered figures that showcase the artist's skill.
  • ?–1952
    (Dr. Vladimir G. Simkhovitch [1874–1959], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1952–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. Chinese Landscape Painting. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1954. Mentioned: p. 149 cat. no. 45; Reproduced p. 69 archive.org
    Sirén, Osvald. Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles. New York: Ronald Press, 1956. Mentioned: VII, Lists, 178
    Lee, Sherman E. “Some Problems in Ming and Ch'ing Landscape Painting.” Ars Orientalis, vol. 2, 1957, pp. 471–485. Reproduced: pls. 1, 2 www.jstor.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “‘The Haven of T'ao Yüan-Ming.’” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 45, no. 9, 1958, pp. 211–214. Mentioned: pp. 211-214; Reproduced: p. 213 www.jstor.org
    Lee, Sherman E. Chinese Landscape Painting. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1962. Reproduced: p. 62, no. 47
    Lee, Sherman E. and Wai-Kam Ho. "Scattered Pearls beyond the Ocean." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Feb., 1964), pp. 23-39. Reproduced: pp. 37-38, cat. no. 12 www.jstor.org
    Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: cat. no. 137, p. 161
    Williams, Marjorie. Chinese Painting--an Escape from the "Dusty" World. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Reproduced: fig. 35, p. 52
    Walker, Nathaniel Robert. “Reforming the Way: The Palace and the Village in Daoist Paradise.” Utopian Studies, vol. 24, no. 1, 2013, pp. 6–22. Reproduced: fig. 7, p. 19 www.jstor.org
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 222-228, and fig. 1
  • Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982); The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (December 3, 1982-February 28, 1983).
    Chinese Paintings: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 7-April 5, 1981).
    Chinese Landscape Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5-December 26, 1954).
    Chinese Landscape Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5-December 26, 1954).
    Ways of Painting Landscapes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 13-May 6, 1953).
  • {{cite web|title=The Haven of the Peach-Blossom Spring|url=false|author=Shi Rui|year=mid-1400s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.283