The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Five Pine Trees

Five Pine Trees

1747
(Chinese, c. 1686–1762)
China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Image: 199.9 x 94.3 cm (78 11/16 x 37 1/8 in.); Overall: 260 x 98 cm (102 3/8 x 38 9/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1976.112
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The writing among the branches illustrates the kinship between painting and calligraphy.

Description

Li Shan was born into a family of scholars and officials in Yangzhou. The wealth and status of Li's family assured him an educational and cultural advantage, including his appointment at court. The subjects Li Shan chose to paint—orchids, bamboo, pines, and flowers—reflected his literati background. Five Pine Trees, painted late in his career, is an unconventional work. Rather than having focused on a realistic treatment of the subject, Li created the trees with an interplay of richly modulated strokes, while he utilized a semicursive script among the branches to illustrate the kinship between painting and calligraphy.
  • ?–1976
    (Cheng Qi 程琦 [1911–1988], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1976–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cheng, Qi 程琦. Xuan hui tang shu hua lu 萱暉堂書畫錄. Hong Kong: Xuan hui tang, 1972. pp. 203(b)–204(a)
    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. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 268, pp. 366–367
    Williams, Marjorie. Chinese Painting--an Escape from the "Dusty" World. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 34, p. 50
  • When Salt was Gold: Yangzhou, City of Riches and Art (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 12-November 5, 2023).
    Inspired by Chinese Landscape and Art – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 14, 2017-February 5, 2018).
    Scholar's Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).
    Chinese Paintings: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 7-April 5, 1981).
    Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 10-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).
    Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=Five Pine Trees|url=false|author=Li Shan|year=1747|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.112