The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 26, 2024

Herdboys and Buffalo in Landscapes

Herdboys and Buffalo in Landscapes

1200s
(Chinese, mid-late 1200s)
China, Qixian, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)
Pair of hanging scrolls; ink on silk
Painting: 92.7 x 56.5 cm (36 1/2 x 22 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1999.216
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

Herdboys tend their buffalo in a bucolic landscape by a winding stream. Guo Min emphasizes the massive forms and mighty power of the animals, transforming them into forces of nature.

The poem in the first scroll reads: "The bulls are engaging in fighting, Cautiously, each seeks to overcome the other. The herdboy calmly stands by. Untying his belt, he silently watches."

The poem in the second scroll reads: "Together, they wade through the middle of the stream, Mindless of perils in the journey. The grass grows tall in the village ahead, While the mist and rain spread far and wide."
  • Shokado Shojo 松花堂昭乗 [1584–1639], Japan
    Otokoyama Hachiman-gu 男山八幡宮, Kyoto, Japan
    Baron Morimura Kaisaku 男爵 森村開作 [1873–1962], Japan
    ?–1999
    (Kaikodo America Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1999–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kokka no. 355 (1919) pp. 202-206. pp. 202-206
    Harada, Kinjirō 原田謹次郎. Nihon genzai Shina meiga mokuroku 日本現在支那名畫目錄. Tōkyō: Ōtsuka Kōgeisha, 1938. p. 124
    Kaikodo (Autumn 1999), no. 2, pp. 94-95, 246-49. pp. 94-95, 246-49
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Rare Chinese Paintings, Baroque Porcelain Plaque and Other New Acquisitions Exhibited with Hanging Scrolls,” December 20, 1999, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 97-99
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. p. 97
  • China through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature and Detail. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 11, 2022-February 26, 2023).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 242). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 28, 2014-January 7, 2015).
  • {{cite web|title=Herdboys and Buffalo in Landscapes|url=false|author=Guo Min|year=1200s|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.216