Autumn river in the rain and clouds
date: label: Date
content: 16th century
label: Period
content: Ming dynasty
name: label: Artist
content: Formerly attributed to Xu Daoning (ca. 1000-after 1066)
notes: label: Label
content: Thick mist and clouds obscure the high, upper slopes of the mountains, providing a wet, autumnal mood for this imaginary riverscape with its mixture of isolated peasant and scholar-recluse inhabitants. At right, a common fisherman huddles in his little boat among the reeds. On the far shore, a path leads from a hamlet of simple, well-built houses to a stone bridge over a stream. Where the stream emerges from a distant valley, a wood gatherer approaches on the narrow trail carrying two bundles of sticks on his shoulder pole. Another hiker materializes among the trees at the top of a lower pass. From his riverside pavilion, a lone scholar gazes over the water; across from him, a narrow waterfall plunges down a series of cascades and crashes onto the rocks below. On a small, flat island beneath the looming crags, a recluse-fisherman has left his fishing rod propped on a forked stick as he rows his boat across the water to meet a friend waiting on the opposite shore. While season and natural backdrop set a particular mood and context, this meeting of friends provides the painting with a focus of human interaction that directly engages the viewer's imagination.
label: Provenance
content: To 1911
label: Provenance
content: Li Wenqing (circa 1869-1931), Shanghai to 1911 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1911 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing in 1911 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 783, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: On the River (April 01, 1995 to January 23, 1996)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Panels and Scrolls (May 2, 1923 to June 2, 1924)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: landscape
label: Topic
content: Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
label: Topic
content: fishing
label: Topic
content: river
label: Topic
content: boat
label: Topic
content: pavilion
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: wood-gathering
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1911.231
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink and color on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 59 x 365.3 cm (23 1/4 x 143 13/16 in)