Windswept lakeshore

Xia Gui

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Southern Song artist, eschewing the Northern Song monumental landscape traditions of "a hundred peaks and ten thousand trees," viewed nature through the microcosm of a single pair of trees and one or two rocks suspended in an infinite void. In this scene of unbounded space, vigorous wet-ink lines and dots against broad flat sweeps of ink wash define forms with startling boldness.

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