Asian Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art

I had the pleasure of re-discovering

The Cleveland Museum of Art this summer.

Admission to the museum is free!

(Parking in the garage is not, but if you arrive

early, parking on the street for free may be possible)

I was pleased to discover that

on the day we would be visiting,

there was an exhibition of Asian art,

one of my favorites.

The exhibit was called

"The Lure of Painted Poetry."

Click on any image to enlarge.

Above, the listing of other exhibits...

I didn't have time to see them all as

carefully as I would like. 

The Asian exhibit was breathtaking.  The lighting

in the gallery was very low in order to avoid damage

to the fragile paintings on silk and paper.

Most of the work was quite faded, in muted

tones of black, brown, and sometimes a little color.

But after all, some of the work was dated

as early as 1470, during the Ming dynasty!

The economy of line in these inked scrolls

was impressive, suggesting so much

with just enough line, form and space.

Postcard- 'Old Pine Tree'

One of my favorite motifs is the somewhat 

scraggly trees clinging to the sides of mountains.

I seem to remember from my college art history classes

that these represent the 'spirit of tenacity'

in both nature and mankind...

surviving life's storms with dignity.

Post card - 'One of Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang Rivers, 1788

I had my index cards with me and took a few notes,

and made a few tiny sketches.  As I began to sketch

a tree from one of the scrolls, a museum guard came over

and said, "Ma'am, we've been instructed not to permit

sketching in the exhibit. I'm sorry."  

How embarrassing.  No photographs I understand.

But no sketching? Seriously?

I guess they wanted to sell more exhibition books 

in their gallery shop.  I was quite nonplussed.

Post card- One of Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang Rivers, 1788

I had earlier seen a mother and two elementary-aged 

daughters in the same exhibit, sketching in little journals

and thought how wonderful that the mother was encouraging

such an appreciation for art. I wonder
if they got 'caught' too? Sketching was permitted
throughout the rest of the museum.  I even saw
one gentleman doing a small painting of the

landscape painting in front of him.
I can only guess how long it had

taken him, but he was doing quite well, and

was almost finished when I saw his work.  

One of my favorite scrolls was quite a large piece,

which portrayed a "Painting Party."  Of course I 

can't find my notes on it now...but it was a lively

portrayal of calligraphy and landscape painters who

had gotten together to paint, view and evaluate

each other's work.  Brilliant!  Sounds like 

an event that I would love to attend.

Maybe something like a workshop, though I 

suspect there was no monetary charge...

In Asian art, carrying on the traditions of

generations of artists was an important aspect

of their art.  Perhaps that will be a post

for another day...

I also  thoroughly enjoyed viewing Picasso,

Van Gogh, Braque,  Matisse and Warhol.  It is quite

an excellent museum.  Just remember to ask a guard if

sketching is permitted, before you whip out your 

art journal and pen!