Detail View: The AMICA Library: Fisherman

AMICA ID: 
MMA_.1989.363.33
AMICA Library Year: 
2002
Object Type: 
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Description: 

Wu Zhen lived the life of a recluse. He was not very famous or successful during his lifetime, but in the Ming period he came to be designated one of the Four Great Masters of the late Yuan dynasty and his style was favored by many Ming painters, most notably Shen Zhou (1427?1509). Wu was fond of doing "ink plays," and his drawing shows a cartoonlike simplicity and directness.

Accompanying the hermit-fisherman , a symbol of the late Yuan unemployed scholar, is Wu Zhen's poetic colophon:

Red leaves west of the village reflect evening rays,/Yellow reeds on a sandy bank cast early moon shadows./Lightly stirring his oar,/Thinking of returning home ,/He puts aside his fishing pole and will catch no more.

Creator Nationality: 
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Dates/Places: 
China 1280?1354
Creator Name-CRT: 
Wu Zhen
Title: 
Fisherman
View: 
Principal view
Creation Date: 
Yuan dynasty (1279?1368), ca. 1350
Creation Start Date: 
1340
Creation End Date: 
1360
Materials and Techniques: 
Handscroll; ink on paper
Dimensions: 
9 3/4 x 17 in. (24.8 x 43.2 cm)
AMICA Contributor: 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: 
New York, New York
ID Number: 
1989.363.33
Credit Line: 
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
Inscriptions: 
Inscribed by the artist
Copyright: 
Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art . All rights reserved.
Rights: 
Related Image Identifier Link: 
MMA_.h1_1989.363.33.tif