Chinese Landscape1500s · Study 1964.279.2

Context from the museum

In a panorama of mountains and expanses of water, three gentlemen have assembled by moonlight to enjoy one another’s company away from a bustling village. An influx of ink paintings from China in both album and scroll formats beginning in the late 1200s inspired Japanese artists to create landscapes based upon Chinese prototypes. Later, Japanese painters adapted the imagery to the larger format of folding screens, which were used to define spaces in large rooms.

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

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected image measurement for Chinese Landscape is 357.8 cm wide and 155.5 cm high, equivalent to approximately 140.9 × 61.2 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 2.30:1. The rectangular bounding area is 5.56 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 119.3% of the span before adding a frame. That exceeds the example wall width, so a smaller reference wall would not reproduce the recorded scale. 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 Chinese Landscape in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, One of a pair of six-fold screens; ink and slight color on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 357.8 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?