ticketsMember | Make a donation

Rustic Scene

Li Huasheng Chinese
1982
Not on view
This painting presents an eerily powerful landscape, in which a massive tree atop a tall bluff reaches down to a gable-roofed pavilion with a cascade of aerial roots. The almost surreal sight may not be pure invention, but rather a subjective re-creation of an obscure place the artist saw in his native Sichuan Province. He explains his approach to landscape painting in the inscription:

To the common and nearby places, travelers come in crowds, but few attempt the precarious and remote. The grand, extraordinary, and strange sights of the world, however, are always found in precarious and remote places. I tend to travel where others do not, and to paint what others dismiss as unsuitable for painting. The places I go have only single-plank bridges [for lone travelers].
—trans. after Jerome Silbergeld

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 現代 李華生 巴蜀鄉趣圖 軸
  • Title: Rustic Scene
  • Artist: Li Huasheng (Chinese, 1944–2018)
  • Date: 1982
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 53 1/2 × 26 1/2 in. (135.9 × 67.3 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 90 7/8 × 31 3/4 in. (230.8 × 80.6 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 90 7/8 × 35 11/16 in. (230.8 × 90.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Jerome Silbergeld and Michelle DeKlyen, 2013
  • Object Number: 2013.1107
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Li Huasheng
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
9616, Li Huasheng Chinese, Ink and color on paper, China
9616
Li Huasheng
1996
0404, Li Huasheng Chinese, Horizontal formatted ink on paper (unbacked), China
0404
Li Huasheng
2004
The Yellow Mountains (Huangshan), Li Huasheng Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, China
The Yellow Mountains (Huangshan)
Li Huasheng
1980
Coming Through the Gorges, Li Huasheng Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
Coming Through the Gorges
Li Huasheng
1986
0669, Li Huasheng Chinese, Four hanging scrolls; ink on paper, China
Returned to lender
0669
Li Huasheng
2006

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.