Conversation in Autumn

講秋圖

1732

Hua Yan 華喦

(Chinese, 1682–c. 1765)

Culture

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and light color on paper

Measurements

Overall: 218.5 x 71.7 cm (86 x 28 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 1954.263

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

A barren tree on the lower left has a hole in its lower trunk through which is visible a young servant carrying food to the gentlemen in the cottage.

Description

Two figures sit conversing in a thatched cottage. This painting illustrates two poetic lines:

My guest came to sit beyond the dust,
In a narrow room, we talked about the autumnal sounds of autumn.

Hua Yan presented an intimate world—simple and rustic—amid a landscape. The cool wilderness depicted in this work conveys an aloofness that may reveal the inner world of a scholar-artist who failed the civil service examination but preserved a sense of pride and endurance in his humble surroundings.