Misty River and Layered Peaks, Wanli period, 1608, Gu Yide, active 1630s, 8 7/8 x 368 in. (22.54 x 934.72 cm) (image), Ink and color on paper, China, 17th century, The handscroll opens with a conventional panorama of riverbanks with trees, houses, bridges, and figures set among an ample stretch of water. Across the river, the rolling hills open into a vista that curves to the left, as if drifting between sky and water. The artists pictorial vision presents the scene as more nonreligious than sacred. The imagery is concrete, yet in subtle ways it evokes the transcendent realm.