Traveling Deep in the Mountains

This work is executed in the so-called blue-and-green landscape style, which was established during the Tang dynasty (617–906) and employed by later artists when an archaic yet decorative atmosphere was desired. It depicts a gentleman visiting a recluse in a mountain setting, a subject that has been featured in Chinese literature for more than fifteen hundred years and has been a favorite of artists specializing in the figures-in-landscape genre.

A gentleman riding a donkey has just crossed a bridge and is followed by a servant carrying belongings on his shoulder. This gentleman’s destination, the hut of an old master who lives deep in the mountains, is shown in the middle section of the painting. To the right is a village complex with a few figures involved in various pursuits. The middle ground of this scroll is filled with mountains, temples, and forests. On the left side is a man walking on a trail. The upper left shows a country villa in which an old master is meeting a visitor.