Returning to the Village in a Rainstorm1530 · Study 1975.94

Context from the museum

This scroll depicts a wind- and rainswept landscape with figures in the countryside struggling against a late summer monsoon rainstorm. Such weather was familiar to residents of the lower Yangzi delta. Xie Shichen spent most of his life in the Suzhou area. Details of his career are scant, but his surviving works suggest that he made his living as a professional painter. This painting conveys drama and anecdotal observations, characteristic of Zhe school paintings, such as the one by Lü Wenying, CMA 1970.76 .

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

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected overall measurement for Returning to the Village in a Rainstorm is 425.4 cm wide and 40.3 cm high, equivalent to approximately 167.5 × 15.9 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 10.56:1. The rectangular bounding area is 1.71 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 141.8% 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 Returning to the Village in a Rainstorm in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Handscroll; ink and light color on silk, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 425.4 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?