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A Hundred Sparrows in a Lofty Grove
attributed to Lin Liang (Chinese, 1416–1480)
1368–1644
- Medium
- handscroll; ink on silk
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Overall: 28.6 x 498.2 cm (11 1/4 x 196 1/8 in.)
- Culture
- China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese Art
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Sparrows engaged in all kinds of activities frolic amid leafy branches, blades of grass, rocks, and a waterfall. As our eyes move over the scroll, the artist engages us in enjoying the sparrows’ carefree movements in a natural setting.
The charming birds were painted from close observation in swift and fluent brushstrokes. Sparrows are a common bird and in Chinese painting they often represent the commoner in human society as opposed to the noble pheasant or peacock representative of the ruling class.
