The Haven of the Peach-Blossom Spring (mid-1400s): Art, History and Details

The Haven of the Peach-Blossom Spring (mid-1400s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Shi Rui (Chinese, c. 1400-c. 1470).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

A miniature inspired by the “Peach Blossom Spring,” this painting illustrates the well-known tale written by the poet-recluse Tao Yuanming (365–427 CE), in which a fisherman accidentally discovers a hidden utopian village where residents live in harmony, untouched by the outside world's troubles. While the painting lacks a signature, scholars concur on its attribution to Shi Rui, evident from the dynamic landscape and the effortlessly rendered figures that showcase the artist's skill.

Object facts

• Title: The Haven of the Peach-Blossom Spring
• Date: mid-1400s
• Creator attribution: Shi Rui (Chinese, c. 1400-c. 1470)
• Culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Album leaf; ink and slight color on silk
• Dimensions: Image: 24.7 x 22.2 cm (9 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.); Overall: 66.7 x 40.4 cm (26 1/4 x 15 7/8 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Album leaf
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1952.283

A detail from the museum

Some fifty inhabitants of the Peach Blossom Spring gather in a small clearing surrounded by thatched huts and cottages.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. Chinese Landscape Painting. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1954.
• Sirén, Osvald. Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles. New York: Ronald Press, 1956.
• Lee, Sherman E. “Some Problems in Ming and Ch'ing Landscape Painting.” Ars Orientalis, vol. 2, 1957, pp. 471–485.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.