The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
Li Tieguai
1300s
(1271-1368)
Image: 100.5 x 38.4 cm (39 9/16 x 15 1/8 in.); Overall with knobs: 182 x 59.2 cm (71 5/8 x 23 5/16 in.)
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1982.29.1
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
Li Tieguai is one of the Eight Daoist immortals.Description
It is said that Li Tieguai’s ethereal self visited the deified Laozi but when he returned, he found that his own body was burned. He had to inhabit the corpse of a person who used a crutch to walk, and thus gained his name Tieguai—the Iron Crutch.The painting depicts Li Tieguai after he took possession of the body, with the iron staff in his hand. As Li exhales, he blows a small Li Tieguai in the air, showing the immortal’s ability to send his spirit on journeys.
- ?–1982(Katsuhiro Kobayashi, Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)1982–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Delacour, Catherine. La Voie du Tao: un Autre Chemin de L'être : Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, 29 Mars-5 Juillet 2010. Paris: Reunion des Musees Nationaux, 2010. Mentioned: p. 282; Reproduced: p. 283, cat. no. 73.1
- Escaping to a Better World: Eccentrics and Immortals in Chinese Art (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 13-November 6, 2022).La voie du Tao, un autre chemin de l'Etre. Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 75008 Paris, France (March 29-July 5, 2010).
- {{cite web|title=Li Tieguai|url=false|author=|year=1300s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.29.1