Autumn foliage and birds
Formerly attributed to Cui Bai (active mid- to late 11th century)
14th-15th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1919.154
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Charles Lang Freer collectionChinaChinese ArtMing dynasty (1368 - 1644)Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)autumnbirdbird and flower
About this artwork
A magpie is perched atop a tree to which a few sparse autumn leaves still cling. Two songbirds sit on the thorns below. The composition of this unsigned painting is based on Song dynasty (906-1279) conventions, but on the whole it is too open and loosely organized to be an exact copy. The relatively tight, descriptive brushwork dates stylistically to the Yuan (1279-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644).