Retreats in the Spring Hills

Unidentified artist

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Retreats in the Spring Hills is datable stylistically to the early twelfth century, when artists began to experiment with archaic styles, including the "blue-and-green" landscape manner first made popular in the seventh century. In the twelfth-century revival, the flat blue-and-green color scheme was used to evoke feelings of an antique Golden Age. Artists adopted this style to create dreamlike visions of idyllic mountain retreats or Daoist paradises, in contrast to the naturalistic, predominantly monochromatic landscape depictions of the tenth and eleventh centuries.

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