id:			149077
accession number:	1977.201
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.201
updated:		2023-09-16 11:08:54.222000

Fish, c. 1400. China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Hanging scroll, ink and slight color on silk; painting: 35.1 x 53.3 cm (13 13/16 x 21 in.); overall with knobs: 124.8 x 72.5 cm (49 1/8 x 28 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Herbert F. Leisy in memory of his wife, Helen Stamp Leisy 1977.201

title:				Fish
title in original language:	群魚戲水圖
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1400
creation date earliest:		1395
creation date latest:		1405
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Herbert F. Leisy in memory of his wife, Helen Stamp Leisy
copyright:			

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culture:	China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
technique:	hanging scroll, ink and slight color on silk
department:	Chinese Art
collection:	ASIAN - Hanging scroll
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Painting: 35.1 x 53.3 cm (13 13/16 x 21 in.); Overall with knobs: 124.8 x 72.5 cm (49 1/8 x 28 9/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting
	opening date:   1981-02-11T05:00:00
	<i>Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting</i>. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).

	title:		Flora and Fauna (Chinese art rotation)
	opening date:   2020-11-06T05:00:00
	<i>Flora and Fauna (Chinese art rotation)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2020-June 6, 2021).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Howard C. Hollis and Company, Cleveland, OH, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Herbert F. Leisy)
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Mr. Herbert F. Leisy [1900-1977] and Mrs. Helen Stamp Leisy [1906-1975], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1977
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1977-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
Four fish of various sizes are swimming among aquatic plants. Like in other paintings, the existence of water is suggested in the harmonious movement of the fish and plants. In Chinese, the word for fish (<em>yu</em>) is a homophone for “abundance” and thus the motif has an auspicious connotation. <br><br>The painter uses the so-called boneless technique without outlines to shade and texture the bodies of the fish. The smooth transition from dark shades on their backs to their white bellies and the thin transparent fins and tails in light washes accentuated by gills and scales are all executed without contour lines.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. <em>Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980.
	page number: 	Reproduced: cat. no. 128, p. 150
	url:		

	Laozi 老子 and James Legge, translator. <em>Tao Te Ching </em>道德经. New York: Metro Books, 2008.
	page number: 	Reproduced: fig. 44
	url:		

	Tang Yin 唐寅, Xu Wei 徐渭, and Qiu Ying 仇英. <em>Ming Hua Quan Ji </em>明畫全集. Hangzhou Shi: Zhejiang da xue chu ban she, 2017.
	page number: 	Mentioned and reproduced: Vol. 20, pt. 2, p. 218-221, 317
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.201/1977.201_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.201/1977.201_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.201/1977.201_full.tif