Gu Yun was born in Suzhou but spent his mature artistic years in the vibrant arts community of late nineteenth-century Shanghai. Though some Shanghai painters at the time were experimenting with bold, loose styles, Gu produced many works that were relatively restrained and conservative. According to his inscription, he based this painting on the manner of the fourteenth-century painter Ma Wan, a somewhat obscure follower of Huang Gongwang.