On view

Asian Art
Huo Pavilion
Christina Lee Gallery

Lone Sailboat,

1701

Shitao 石濤, 1642–1707; born Guilin, China; died Yangzhou, China
Chinese
Qing dynasty, 1644–1912
y1967-2 e
Shitao was born into the Ming-dynasty imperial family two years before the Manchu overthrew the dynasty and founded the Qing empire in 1644. He lived as a wandering Buddhist monk for much of his life, making calligraphy and painting along the way. The style he developed in both art forms was wildly innovative. His strikingly unbalanced compositions frequently depict mountains that seem to possess individual personalities. This album of ten paintings and an inscription page was made toward the end of Shitao’s life, when he had abandoned his nomadic ways and settled in the prosperous city of Yangzhou.

Information

Title
Lone Sailboat
Dates

1701

Medium
Album leaf; ink and light color on paper
Dimensions
Painting: 24.2 x 18.7 cm. (9 1/2 x 7 3/8 in.) Leaf: 32.8 x 51.1 cm. (12 15/16 x 20 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Object Number
y1967-2 e
Place Made

Asia, China

Signatures
signed
Inscription
dated 1701
Culture
Period

Sumitomo collection. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), by 1967; acquired by the Princeton University Art Museum, 1967.