Boating in Guangling
Date1924
Label TextA native of Wujin in Jiangsu province, Deng Shu traveled frequently to Shanghai, and showed his works in exhibitions before this was the norm for viewing. Created when the artist was forty years old, this lyrical landscape painting documents a boat outing on the Yangtze River. The painter positions the viewer on an elevated ground, presumably atop the city wall on the embankment along the river, and highlights the opposite shore with a tall pine that towers above other trees and willows. The diagonal composition creates a sense of isolation and transforms the scenery into an unworldly realm, its inhabitants wearing curiously antiquated clothing. As such, the painting is a romantic vision, rather than an actual depiction, of the place visited.
Object number2008.57
ProvenanceShut-chi Tse, Hong Kong; inherited by nephew Stephen Tse, Medina, WA, 1980s
Photo CreditPhoto: Susan A. Cole
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Tse in honor of Mimi Gardner Gates
DimensionsImage: 13 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. (33.7 x 33.7 cm)
MediumInk and color on paper
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1815-49
Object number: 39.163
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