# Bamboo in Snow

- By: Hong Fan (Chinese, active late 1700s–early 1800s)
- Date: 1818
- Medium: hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Painting only: 164.5 x 87.6 cm (64 3/4 x 34 1/2 in.); Overall with knobs: 288 x 121.7 cm (113 3/8 x 47 15/16 in.)
- Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Credit line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2023.161)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2023.161/2023.161_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Hong Fan’s bamboo stalks amidst rocky boulders bend gently forward. Light washes of ink suggest a misty, wintry atmosphere. Fan was inspired in style and concept by the poet, calligrapher and painter, Su Shi (1037-1101) who considered bamboo an ideal subject to express the calligraphic qualities of brushwork. Bamboo that bends, but does not break under the heavy snow, was also an image for the upright scholar who withstands adverse times.