The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 18, 2026

A horizontally oriented tan paper is inked with dense columns of black cursive characters that streak and loop across the surface. Rhythmic brushstrokes vary from bold, heavy marks to thin, threadlike lines that connect continuously from right to left. In the far-left corner sit small red square seals. The composition consists entirely of expressive calligraphic text without representational images, showcasing varying ink densities across the long, horizontal background.

Retreat on an Autumn Day, in Cursive Script

dated 1523

Zhu Yunming

(Chinese, 1460–1527)
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Handscroll; ink on paper
height: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.); Calligraphy section: 514.2 cm (202 7/16 in.); Roll: 34.6 x 8.3 cm (13 5/8 x 3 1/4 in.)
Gift of the Gracious Pine Studio Collection 2025.192
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Zhu Yunming stated that he was in an inebriated state when he created this work.

Description

This masterwork of calligraphy by Zhu Yunming from Suzhou combines two poems by the artist in cursive script style, characterized by its uninhibited, swift, and intuitive brushwork, so powerful that it here dissolved characters into dots or lines. Written from right to left and top to bottom and alternating in light dry to deep saturated ink, single characters may take a whole column or extend into the next one. Following the movement of the brush, they seem to dance over the paper.
  • December 1, 1993
    (Christie's, New York, NY, Fine Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy, December 1, 1993 sale, lot 112)
    1993–2025
    Gracious Pine Studio collection, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2025–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH
  • Fu, Shen Chun-Yueh 傅申, and Yūjirō Nakata 中田勇次郎. Ōbei shūzō Chūgoku hōsho meiseki shū [ 歐米収蔵中國法書名蹟集= Masterpieces of Chinese calligraphy in American and European collections]. Tokyo: Chūō Kōronsha, 1981. vol. 4, pp. 167–68
    Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc. New York. Fine Chinese paintings and calligraphy: Sale 7790. Wednesday, 1 December 1993. Lot 112
  • The Dancing Brush: Ming Dynasty Calligraphers and Eccentrics. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 8, 2024-March 2, 2025).
    Six Dynasties of Chinese Painting Part 2. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 10-September 1, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=Retreat on an Autumn Day, in Cursive Script|url=false|author=Zhu Yunming|year=dated 1523|access-date=18 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.192