The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Fisherman's Joy
1572
(Chinese, 1508–c. 1578)
Image: 31.4 x 355.2 cm (12 3/8 x 139 13/16 in.); Overall: 37 x 989.4 cm (14 9/16 x 389 1/2 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
This painting has a scene showing two small crafts, each manned by two fishermen, practicing a traditional fishing method. In one of them, a man uses a bamboo pole to direct the movements of a cormorant bird sent into the water. Cormorant fishing, witnessed in some areas of the lower Yangzi River, appears in Zhe school paintings. Qian Gu may have borrowed these narrative figure scenes from Zhe school paintings, while his vantage point, brushwork, and soft tones align with the Wu school style. Scenes of fishermen appealed to urban and educated audiences who idealized the self-sufficient independence of fisherfolk.- ?–1977(Dr. Gimpoh Y. King [1911–1998], Cleveland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)1977–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- China's Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981: Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, cat. no. 187, p. 240.Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
- {{cite web|title=Fisherman's Joy|url=false|author=Qian Gu|year=1572|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.56