Pleasures of Fishing

Object Details

• Label

  Fishermen reel in heavy nets using jury-rigged pulleys that temporarily link together their small craft. Wives and children are ready to help and a grandmother peeks through a window cradling an infant. This romantic view of communal life on the water appealed strongly to art patrons in the mid-Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Many of them were court officials who faced daily the threat of political treachery at the corrupt mid-Ming court and therefore envied the seemingly joyful, self-sufficient independence of fishermen. The precise draftsmanship of "Pleasures of Fishing" is typical of Ming art by professional painters who consciously sought to revive the cultural glory of academic painting in the Song dynasty (960-1279).

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Transfer from the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1640s, 1300s

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Boats and boating, Art, Chinese Art, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Fishing

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings