The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 15, 2024

Squirrel on a Pine Branch

Squirrel on a Pine Branch

1500s
(Chinese, active 1300s)
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
hanging scroll, ink on paper
Overall: 119.7 x 66.4 cm (47 1/8 x 26 1/8 in.)
Gift from the Collection of George Gund III 2015.498
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Although the evergreen pine does not indicate a time of year, the lively activity of the squirrel and the insect suggest a warm season.

Description

This painting captures a squirrel in action, distracted and twisting its head while climbing and looking at a little bug to the right. The painter skillfully employs a combination of ink washes and fine brushstrokes to simulate the animal’s fur. Only three simple curved lines depict the squirrel’s claws.

The subject of squirrels did not appear in Chinese painting before the late Southern Song (1127–1279) and Yuan periods (1279–1368). The painter Songtian was one of the few Yuan painters who specialized in this theme.
  • ?-1997
    (Heisondo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to George Gund III)
    1997-2015
    George Gund III [1937-2013] bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2015-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Flora and Fauna (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2020-June 6, 2021).
    Greeting the Spring (Chinese art rotation, galleries 240a, 239, 241c). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 11-August 13, 2017).
  • {{cite web|title=Squirrel on a Pine Branch|url=false|author=Song Tian|year=1500s|access-date=15 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2015.498