Harmonies of Ideal Worlds
Mountain Village in Clearing Mist
  • Unidentified artist
  • Joseon Dynasty, first half of 16th century
  • Ink on silk
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Gift from the Collection of George Gund III 2015.517

The hill and mountain are positioned to the right of the composition, while a broad river on the left opens into a temple in the mist and distant peaks, creating a sense of spatial depth. The curving lines of the hills and cliffs are gently repeated in rounded forms, with areas of shading to enhance dimensionality. Featuring a mountain market, a distant temple, and scenes of a fishing village, this landscape appears to combine multiple elements from the Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang Rivers tradition. This landscape places mountains to the right and a wide river to the left, creating a sense of spatial depth—a hallmark of the An Gyeon style. An Gyeon, a court painter of the Dohwaseo, was a leading figure in early Joseon painting, and his style became widely popular at the time.