Wen Boren, Washing the Feet (from the Dusty World)
Dean Perry, 1997.103 · The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access (CC0)View original →
Wen Boren

Washing the Feet (from the Dusty World)

1570

Current Collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Medium
Hanging scroll mounted on a panel; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
170.2 × 79.4 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-115728

A scholar on a boat in the middle ground bathes his feet in the cooling stream. The vast river scene is depicted from a high viewing point. The motif of a scholar washing his feet illustrates the phrase, “When the waters of the Canglang are clear, I wash my capstrings. When the waters of the Canglang are muddy, I wash my feet [only]” (from Songs of Chu, written before 256 BC). The passage evokes the image of the virtuous scholar-official who avoids government service when the ruler is corrupt (the rivers are muddy) and resumes service (washing my capstrings) when the waters are clear. Whether…

Provenance

Dean Perry, 1997.103

Registry history

  • 1570 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

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