Temple at the foot of a mountain. Gao Qipei (1660 - 1734). China c. 1700. Ink and colours on paper. After passing his 21st birthday, Gao Qipei heldmany high administrative offices. Besides his work within the bureaucracy he also painted, generally using his fingers and nails. As an administrator Gao Qipei travelled extensively. Every one or two years he left Peking for a different region, and as he journeyed he sketched the landscape. Many of the album pages reflect the scenery he passed. His landscapes form only a fraction of his oeuvre; more prominent are his paintings of people, animals and flowers. The inscription, top right: The evening clouds red, the mountains emerald green - the lord with idle hands tarries; his knees fail him, the others so far away. Qipei.