Mountain Market, Clearing Mist 1200 - 1230

Xia Gui created "Mountain Market, Clearing Mist" during the Southern Song dynasty, using ink on silk. Xia Gui worked at the Painting Academy in Hangzhou and was one of the foremost masters of landscape painting at the time. His works often evoke a sense of serenity and contemplation, but are also infused with the realities of life. "Mountain Market, Clearing Mist" depicts a scene of everyday commerce set against a misty, mountainous backdrop. We see figures clustered around what appears to be a market, embedded in a landscape that feels both intimate and expansive. Xia Gui masterfully uses ink wash to create a nuanced atmospheric effect that blurs the line between the real and the ethereal. It’s a scene of human activity coexisting with the grandeur of nature. Xia Gui’s work invites us to reflect on our place within the larger world, intertwining the personal with the universal.