Landscape Album in Various Styles: The Stream of Wuling1684 · Study 1955.37.4

Context from the museum

At age 68, Zha Shibiao painted this album with seasonal landscapes in various styles. Painted in fresh colors and wet strokes, all depict typical scenes of Jiangnan. The mention of Wuling in the inscription signals the “Peach Blossom Spring,” but Zha Shibiao purposefully left out all the accepted iconography for that story: a lone fisherman, cave entrance, and village of hermits. Instead, two men in separate boats are engaged in conversation. Could they be talking about the way to the Peach Blossom Spring, or could one of them be that fisherman blessed by his unintended visit but no longer able to find his way back again? Around them unfolds a lyrical landscape, with willows along the shores, an empty pavilion, a wide-open lake surface, and endless distant hills.

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

A detail to notice

Zha Shibiao, a native of Anhui province, moved to Yangzhou later in his career, like so many of his fellow countrymen.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected overall measurement for Landscape Album in Various Styles: The Stream of Wuling is 39.4 cm wide and 29.9 cm high, equivalent to approximately 15.5 × 11.8 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.32:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.12 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 13.1% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 130.3 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 Landscape Album in Various Styles: The Stream of Wuling 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 light color on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 39.4 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?