Towing Boats under Clearing Skies after Snow

Original Language Title仿郭忠恕雪霽江行圖卷

Former TitleTowing a Boat under Clearing Skies

Artist Unknown

Artist After Guo Zhongsu (仿)郭忠恕 (Chinese, Active 10th century)

Date12th-14th century

MediumHandscroll; ink on silk

DimensionsOverall: 20 3/4 × 56 1/4 inches (52.71 × 142.88 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number31-135/33

On View

Not on view

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionTwo boats loaded with passengers and cargo, being towed up the river, with snow-covered mountains in the far distance. Has been trimmed somewhat along both upper and lower edges.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco, February 18-December 2, 1939, no. 133.

ight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, Nelson-Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, November 7, 1980 – January 4, 1981; The Cleveland Museum of Art, no. 77.

Flowers to Frost: Four Seasons in East Asian Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, January 18 - July 17, 2016.

Gallery Label

This scroll depicts a busy winter scene on a waterfront. The sky is clear after heavy overnight snow. Despite the cold, crews tow heavy-laden boats toward the riverbank. A man on the deck hunches his back against the cold air while others work to dock the vessels. A dog on the second ship’s bow faithfully safeguards the freight. At the end of the day, it may be a playful companion for the sailors.

Provenance

Qing dynasty imperial collection, Peking (modern-day Beijing), China, by 1816;

With Celestin Liu, Peking (modern-day Beijing), China, by July 1931 [1];

Purchased from Celestin Liu, through Langdon Warner (1881-1955), by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1931.

NOTES:

[1] Hu Jing, et al. comp, Shiqu baoji sanbian [Catalogue of painting and calligraphy in the imperial collection, part III], 1816. Facsimile reprint. (Taipei: 1969), 481-81.

[1] "Kansas City - Itemized Purchases in China and Japan, 1932," Harvard Pusey Library, Langdon Warner Personal Archive, box 15, folder 28, copy in Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.

Published References

Hu Jing, et al. comp, Shiqu baoji sanbian [Catalogue of painting and calligraphy in the imperial collection, part III], 1816. Facsimile reprint. (Taipei: 1969), 481-81.

Hu Jing, Xiqing zaji [Notes on painting and calligraphy examined by the author], 1816. Ch. 1, pp. 3-4.

Chen Rentao [J. D. Chen], Gugong yiyi shuhua mu [An Annotated list of lost calligraphy and painting from the Qing palace collection]. (Hong Kong: 1956), 10a.

Robert J. Maeda, “Chieh-hua: Ruled Line Painting in China” Ars Orientalis, vol. X (1975), 127-30, pl. 2. (repro.)

To Gen, Kyonen [Tong Yuan, Churan], Bunjinga suihen [essence of Chinese and Japanese literati painting] vol. II. (Tokyo: 1977), 100, 154, no. 84. (repro.)

Wai-Kam Ho, et al., Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and The Cleveland Museum of Art. (The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, c1980), 96-97, no. 77. (repro.)

Suzuki Kei, History of Chinese Painting, Vol. I (Tokyo: 1980), 159, no. 162. (repro.)

People and Places of the Past. The National Geographic Illustrated Cutural Atlas of the Ancient World (Washington, D.C.: 1983), 270-271, detail color illus. (repro.)

Alaisdair Clayre, The Heart of the Dragon (London: 1984), 252-253, detail (color). (repro.)

Suzuki Kei, Zhongguo huihua shi, translated by Wei Mei-yueh (Taipei: 1987), pl. 162. (repro.)

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.