Moonlit terrace

Unidentified

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Chinese landscape paintings often depict night scenes, but the signals of darkness can be subtle. In this painting, a gentleman looks out from a low terrace onto a small stream that runs through his garden. Follow his gaze to three red candles at the left of the composition. These, along with the barely visible circle in the sky at upper right, reveal that our protagonist has come to revel in the cool evening breeze and the glimmer of moonlight on the water.

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