The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Mountain Landscape in Moonlight

1200s

China, Southern Song dynasty

(1127–1279) to Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
hanging scroll; ink on silk
Image: 54.3 x 36 cm (21 3/8 x 14 3/16 in.); Overall: 139.6 x 41.4 cm (54 15/16 x 16 5/16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1987.37
Location: Not on view

Description

Painted in modulated monochrome ink washes with dark dots for foliate accents, the anonymous artist successfully suggests the dense atmosphere of a warm summer night. Under a full moon a scholar rides a mule, accompanied by a servant who carries his belongings. The poem inscribed by Chan (Zen) priest Yunfeng Miaogao identifies the figure as the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770).

Who rides Du [Fu]'s mule:
Through the universe his name resounds.
Chanting poems as he rides off on his mule,
How quickly does he become drunk with Heaven and Earth!
  • by 1972–1987
    Kimbell Art Foundation, Fort Worth, Texas, deaccessioned and consigned to Sotheby's New York
    June 2, 1987
    (Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, NY, Fine Chinese Paintings sale June 2, 1987, lot 1, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1987–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sotheby’s New York. Fine Chinese Paintings. 2 June 1987 sale. Lot 1.
    Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (February 1988): 30–71. Reproduced: p. 51; Mentioned: p. 71, no. 210 www.jstor.org
  • Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
  • {{cite web|title=Mountain Landscape in Moonlight|url=false|author=|year=1200s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.37