Autumn Colors
on the Que and Hua Mountains

Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322)
28.4 x 93.2 cm (National Palace Museum, Taipei)

Scroll from right to left. Tap a numbered seal to open its tracing page.

The scene depicts the flatlands north of Jinan in Shandong province, China, where two mountains rise from a broad, low-lying wetland. On the right, the sharply peaked Mount Hua rises dramatically with a steep triangular silhouette rendered in deep blue-green mineral pigment. On the left, the softer, rounded Que Mountain sits lower and wider on the horizon. Between and around the two mountains stretches a vast, shallow body of water rendered in pale ink wash. Scattered across the middle ground are clusters of trees in varied autumn states.