The Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a Cloud

The Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a Cloud

Kano Yukinobu 狩野之信

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Liezi (Japanese: Resshi) was a legendary Daoist sage who rejected all worldly ties and flew away with the wind. Here, he disappears from the eyes of onlookers into the darkened sky. Fan paintings were a common means by which Kano-school painters shared their knowledge of Chinese styles of the Song and Yuan dynasties. A faint seal links this to Kano Yukinobu, younger brother of the school’s second-generation leader, Motonobu (1477–1559).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a CloudThe Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a CloudThe Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a CloudThe Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a CloudThe Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a Cloud

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.