Drinking in the Moonlight

舉杯邀月圖

late 1100s–early 1200s

Ma Yuan 馬遠

(Chinese, c. 1150–after 1255)

China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

Album leaf; ink on silk

Painting: 24.5 x 25 cm (9 5/8 x 9 13/16 in.); Overall: 67.6 x 39.2 cm (26 5/8 x 15 7/16 in.)

Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1997.89

Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

The gentleman depicted is relaxing with a cup of wine in his hand.

Description

Once the moon rises and the wine is finished, perhaps the reclined tipsy gentleman will return to the stone table, where ink, paper, and brush can be seen. For moon enthusiasts in Hangzhou, there was a site named Yue Yan, or Moon Cliff, behind the imperial precincts on Mount Fenghuang. With its geographical features of receding craggy rocks leading to the framed full moon, there is good reason to believe that the scene depicts this specific site.

The association of this painting with Ma Yuan is stylistically based. However, the brushwork accords more with the aesthetic approach of his son, Ma Lin.