The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 20, 2026

A horizontal album leaf in ink and light color on off-white paper depicts a boy riding a gray water buffalo on the right. A gnarled tree with sparse green leaves and dark buds leans over a textured rock in the center. Along the left edge, vertical Chinese calligraphy and a red seal feature against the empty background. Delicate brushwork and muted tones define the serene, sparsely composed landscape.

Album of Landscape Paintings Illustrating Old Poems: Boy Tending a Water Buffalo

1745

Hua Yan

(Chinese, 1682–c. 1765)
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Album leaf; ink and light color on paper
Album, closed: 15.4 x 18.5 x 3.1 cm (6 1/16 x 7 5/16 x 1 1/4 in.); Each painting: 11.2 x 13.1 cm (4 7/16 x 5 3/16 in.)
Edwin R. and Harriet Pelton Perkins Memorial Fund 1982.68.12
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Tending water buffalos has traditionally been the task of young boys and can still be seen in rural areas of Southern China today.

Description

Hua Yan is one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, who rejected Orthodox ideas about painting.
  • ?–1982
    (Frank Caro [1904–1980], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1982–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review for 1982.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 70, no. 1, 1983, pp. 3–55. Mentioned: no. 84, p. 53 www.jstor.org
  • China through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature and Detail. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 11, 2022-February 26, 2023).
  • {{cite web|title=Album of Landscape Paintings Illustrating Old Poems: Boy Tending a Water Buffalo|url=false|author=Hua Yan|year=1745|access-date=20 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.68.12