Boats at Anchor on West Lake at the City Gate1150–1200 · Study 1978.68

Context from the museum

Highlighted with a few bright accents, this fan painting conveys a nightly atmosphere with boats anchoring on West Lake at the foot of the city walls. Willow trees line the embankment, and the moon appears above the mountains. While the city is asleep, a figure wearing red inside a boat holds what appears to be a pipa (plucked stringed instrument), while a blue-robed gentleman nearby gazes toward the sound of music, evoking an association with Song of the Lute ( Pipa xing ) by Tang poet Bai Juyi (772–846) which tells the story of a romantic encounter on the Yangzi River.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

The depiction of the female figure playing the pipa and the scholarly male evokes an association with a romantic encounter narrated in a well-known Tang dynasty poem.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected image measurement for Boats at Anchor on West Lake at the City Gate is 19.2 cm wide and 25.3 cm high, equivalent to approximately 7.6 × 10.0 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.76:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.05 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 6.4% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 140.4 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Boats at Anchor on West Lake at the City Gate in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Album leaf; ink and color on silk, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 19.2 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?