Fish in a Lake

19th century

Laian

Chinese, active ca. 14th century

Unknown artist, Chinese

Chinese

Already a well depicted painting subject in the 12th century, “fish swimming among water weeds” became a more popular theme later in the 16th century not only in painting but other mediums such as ceramics (one example is shown in an adjacent case). The writing on the storage box attributes this pair of paintings to a 14th-century Chinese monk painter, who is recognized for his fish painting, but little is known about his life. The two seals pressed on each of the pair are associated with the Chinese monk Yinyuan Longqi (1592–1673), who was influential in Japan as the founder of Obaku Zen. However, one seal is pressed upside-down and the other cropped incorrectly from an oval-shaped seal, and they are now considered to be spurious.

Ink and color on paper

Overall: 71 x 15in. (180.3 x 38.1cm)

Image: 38 1/2 x 11 1/8in. (97.8 x 28.3cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

36.117.1

Provenance: Yamanaka & Co., Inc.

Photo: Susan Cole

Not currently on view

Resources

Published ReferencesSung, Hou-mei, "Decoded Messages: The Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting", Yale University Press, 2009, cat. no. 79, illus. pg. 233

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