A Critical Analysis Of Zhao Mengfu's Twin Pines

Zhao Mengfu’s piece entitled Twin Pines, Level Distance features two pine trees a small piece of land and it is surrounded by rocks. In the background we can see more rocks, or mountains, drawn in very delicate cursive-like lines. The exact location that this painting took place in is unknown, but we can assume that it is in China. This painting was made in 1310 during the Yuan dynasty. It is currently located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It was painted with ink on paper and was presented as a hand scroll. The most important element in this painting is the line work. The lines are done in a very calligraphic style. This is because “Zhao Mengfu reduces his "painted" landscape to a set of calligraphic brush conventions” (“Zhao