Wild Geese on the Beach

1963

Fu Baoshi

Ink and color on paper

45×33cm

Collection of the Private Collection

Wild Geese on the Beach originally referred to a guqin melody but gradually became a separate subject in painting, particularly valued by literati painters. In modern times, the painter Fu Baoshi also showed a great fondness for this theme, creating numerous paintings with Wild Geese on the Beach as the main subject.

This painting depicts a distant and expansive landscape. A hermit, dressed in broad robes with long sleeves, sits facing the great river, calmly playing the qin (a traditional Chinese musical instrument). Not far behind the hermit, a young attendant is holding a fishing rod, seemingly uninterested in the river view. In the sky, four formations of geese fly in orderly ranks, imparting a sense of vastness to the heavens.

The painting presents a stark contrast between the solid foreground and the blurred background. Within this interplay between solidity and void, there are subtle variations in the arrangement of the scenery, showcasing the artist’s artistic skills. The painting not only portrays the harmonious blend of the painting and the sound of music but also conceals a tone of melancholy within the hazy yellowish hues of the empty, autumnal dusk and the desolate river.