Life and career
Ma Yuan belonged to a family of painters serving the Southern Song court in Hangzhou. His work is associated with condensed compositions, carefully placed figures and evocative open space. Exact birth and death dates are uncertain; “active late twelfth–early thirteenth century” is more responsible than treating old catalogue numbers as a secure lifespan.
Works across a career
Selected examples, not a complete catalogue. Read date ranges and attributions before inferring a career sequence.
- 01
late 1100s–early 1200s
late 1100s–early 1200s
Drinking in the Moonlight
- Material / technique
- Album leaf; ink on silk
- Attribution / role
- Museum attribution
- Collection / source
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
Broad or uncertain date: not a secure career stage.
Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry · Image: public domain (CC0)Museum catalogue note
Once the moon rises and the wine is finished, perhaps the reclined tipsy gentleman will return to the stone table, where ink, paper, and brush can be seen. For moon enthusiasts in Hangzhou, there was a site named Yue Yan, or Moon Cliff, behind the imperial precincts on Mount Fenghuang. With its geographical features of receding craggy rocks leading to the framed full moon, there is good reason to believe that the scene depicts this specific site. The association of this painting with Ma Yuan is stylistically based. However, the brushwork accords more with the aesthetic approach of his son, Ma Lin.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0 - 02
1127–1279
1127–1279
Watching the Deer by a Pine Shaded Stream
- Material / technique
- Album leaf; ink and light color on silk
- Attribution / role
- Museum attribution
- Collection / source
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
Broad or uncertain date: not a secure career stage.
Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry · Image: public domain (CC0) - 03
1127–1279
1127–1279
Bamboo and Ducks by a Rushing Stream
- Material / technique
- hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk
- Attribution / role
- Museum attribution
- Collection / source
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
Broad or uncertain date: not a secure career stage.
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · Image: public domain (CC0)
Materials, marks and colour
Media and surface
Ink and light colour on silk suit both intimate album leaves and hanging-scroll formats.
Marks and structure
Condensed forms and asymmetrical placement give unpainted space an active role.
Palette and light
Restrained washes and ink accents suggest mist, moonlight and distance without filling the background.
Sources and further reading
Original educational interpretation; catalogue descriptions are separately credited. Each study links to its source. Reference entries without images are not added to the comparison timeline.