Here the natural appearance of a gnarled and vine-entangled pine has been transformed into a rhythmic abstraction of brushstrokes and ink tonalities, with unifying opposites¡ªopening and closing, rising and falling¡ªthat provide the design across the horizontal scroll. The artist's inscription reads The force of change beyond restraint; / The dragon's whiskers are likened to a forest of spears. Title Old Pine Tree Creator Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470-1559) Date Created late 1530s Physical Dimensions Painting 28 x 139.3 cm (11 x 54 13/16 in.); Overall 29.3 x 596.9 cm (11 9/16 x 235 in.) Provenance Qian Shisheng åXʿ•N [1575¨C1652], Qing imperial collection (seals of Emperors Qianlong, r. 1736¨C1795; Jiaqing, r. 1796¨C1820; and Xuanzong, r. 1909-11), (Jean-Pierre Dubosc [1904¨C1988], Paris, France, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH Type Painting Rights CC0 Medium handscroll, ink on paper Original Title ®‹ËɈD Inscriptions ׃»¯„Ýëy¿`£¬ò°÷×ËÆêªɭ. áçÃ÷ [ӡ]ÎÄáçÃ÷ӡ; ºâɽ, 2 partial seals of Qian Shisheng åXʿ•N (1575-1652), 8 imperial seals 6 of the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-95); 1 of the Jiaqing emperor (r. 1796-1821); 1 of the Xuantong emperor (r. 1909-11). Department Chinese Art Culture China, Ming dynasty (1368¨C1644) Credit Line Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund Collection ASIAN - Handscroll Accession Number 1964.43
