The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of February 14, 2025

Fish
c. 1400
(1368–1644)
Painting: 35.1 x 53.3 cm (13 13/16 x 21 in.); Overall with knobs: 124.8 x 72.5 cm (49 1/8 x 28 9/16 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
Four fish of various sizes are swimming among aquatic plants. Like in other paintings, the existence of water is suggested in the harmonious movement of the fish and plants. In Chinese, the word for fish (yu) is a homophone for “abundance” and thus the motif has an auspicious connotation.The painter uses the so-called boneless technique without outlines to shade and texture the bodies of the fish. The smooth transition from dark shades on their backs to their white bellies and the thin transparent fins and tails in light washes accentuated by gills and scales are all executed without contour lines.
- (Howard C. Hollis and Company, Cleveland, OH, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Herbert F. Leisy)?-1977Mr. Herbert F. Leisy [1900-1977] and Mrs. Helen Stamp Leisy [1906-1975], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art1977-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- 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. 128, p. 150Laozi 老子 and James Legge, translator. Tao Te Ching 道德经. New York: Metro Books, 2008. Reproduced: fig. 44Tang Yin 唐寅, Xu Wei 徐渭, and Qiu Ying 仇英. Ming Hua Quan Ji 明畫全集. Hangzhou Shi: Zhejiang da xue chu ban she, 2017. Mentioned and reproduced: Vol. 20, pt. 2, p. 218-221, 317
- Flora and Fauna (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2020-June 6, 2021).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).
- {{cite web|title=Fish|url=false|author=|year=c. 1400|access-date=14 February 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.201