Herdboys and Buffalo in Landscape

Two dark water buffalo, heads lowered, occupy the lower left of a muted brown silk field, with a bare, twisted tree rising at center. A small figure, likely a herdboy, sits on a sloping bank at right beneath a few inscribed columns of text at upper right. The ink is spare and tonal, with dry brushwork in the branches and soft washes for the animals and ground.

Look closer: A small seated figure, likely a herdboy, on the slope at the right edge.

Artist

Guo Min

Date

1200s

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on silk

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Size

2097 × 3400 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund