This is a Deer Chinese scroll painting in the truest sense — deer in a woodland setting, painted to be lived with. It is the deer that holds the eye first; everything else in the scroll plays supporting role. Study it a while and pine and mist emerge from the background, each one carefully observed.
Tonal control is the quiet star here — light and shade fall exactly where they should. It is the kind of image scholars once hung for its meaning as much as its beauty: the pine means endurance and long life, green through every winter. Winter's stillness settles over the scene — bare branches, held breath, quiet endurance. A simple cord is all it takes — the scroll hangs flat against the wall, the traditional way.
Find it a patch of wall with decent light and step back; the scroll takes care of the rest. All it wants is a nail and a peaceful wall to live on. It is a fine example of pine and mist Chinese painting, the kind of piece that grows on you.
