Two Views from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

Two Views from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

Kantei

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of the most popular subjects in traditional Chinese poetry and landscape painting is the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. It highlights a region in southern China that was the source of a rich literary tradition and the locus of ancient myths and popular lore. Song Di (active 11th century), who retreated to the area after his dismissal from court in 1074, is reputed to have been the first to paint the site in a group of eight images. These codified scenes became popular in Japan, beginning in the Muromachi period. Little is known about Kantei, the artist of these two paintings, save that he may have been a monk of the Ritsu sect of Buddhism, in Nara. It is apparent that both compositions, with their strong horizontal and vertical lines, were influenced by works of the master ink painter Sesshū Tōyō (1420–1506).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two Views from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang RiversTwo Views from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang RiversTwo Views from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang RiversTwo Views from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang RiversTwo Views from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

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.