Conversation in a cave

Unidentified

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Although this painting bears the spurious signature of Xia Gui, the undisputed master of landscape painting in the Song Imperial Painting Academy, its motifs, brushwork, and palette relate it to the work of Ma Yuan, Xia's contemporary and the other leading Song Academy master. Images of caves and grottoes have rich associations involving their role as possible access points to Daoist paradises. The use of such imagery here may imply an escapist wish to leave behind the cares of the mundane world.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art