The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Layered Peaks and Splashing Waterfall: Portrait of Hua Yan as a Young Man

Layered Peaks and Splashing Waterfall: Portrait of Hua Yan as a Young Man

1705
(Chinese, 1682–c. 1765)
(Chinese, 1667-after 1747)
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
Painting: 130 x 47.2 cm (51 3/16 x 18 9/16 in.); Overall: 281 x 95 cm (110 5/8 x 37 3/8 in.)
Gift of various donors by exchange 2001.120
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Hua Yan's autobiographical inscription, full of remorse and insecurity, is squeezed into the contour of a hill in the upper left.

Description

This portrait was jointly executed by Wei Shijie and Hua Yan himself who painted the landscape in the background. Hua Yan is shown here at the age of about 23. The sword at his back is a reference to his early desire for a military career, while the scholar’s robe suggests an opposing aspiration. Together these are signs of a complex personality.

The painting also reveals Hua Yan’s early talent in painting. While Wei Shijie is little known, Hua Yan would later become a well-known painter. In addition to Wei Shijie and Hua Yan, nine of Hua Yan’s contemporary friends left inscriptions on the painting.
  • 1800s
    Hua Pinyu 華品玉 (active 1800s)
    June 1, 1989
    (Christie's, New York, Important Classical Chinese Paintings, June 1, 1989 sale, lot 30)
    1989?-1999?
    Private Collection of a Min Chiu Society 敏求精舍 member, Hong Kong
    April 25, 1999
    (Christie's, Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Classical Painting an Calligraphy, April 25, 1999, lot 270)
    ?-2001
    (Kaikodo America Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2001-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Fukunaga, Takehiko 福永武彥, and Howard L. Rogers. Kinnō, Bunjinga suihen. chiyūgo (9) 金農, 文人画粋編. 中国篇 9. Tōkyō: Chūōkoronsha, 1986. Mentioned: no. 116, pp. 184-185; Reproduced: no. 116, p. 97
    Christie's, New York. Important Classical Chinese Paintings. Thursday, June 1, 1989, at 10:00 A.M. Lot 30
    Li dai wen wu cui zhen: Min qiu jing she san shi zhou nian ji nian zhan [历代文物萃珍: 敏求精舍三十周年纪念展 = Selected Treasures of Chinese Art, Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition Catalogue]. Hong Kong: Min qiu jing she, 1990. Reproduced: pl. 47 p. 122
    Christie's Hong Kong. Fine classical Chinese paintings and calligraphy. April 25, 1999. Lot 270
    “Worlds of Wonder.” Kaikodo Journal, XX (Autumn 2001). Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 296, fig. 3
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 440-446
  • Facing the Ancestors: Chinese Portraits and Figure Painting – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 12, 2019-February 2, 2020).
    Greeting the Spring (Chinese art rotation, galleries 240a, 239, 241c). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 11-August 13, 2017).
  • {{cite web|title=Layered Peaks and Splashing Waterfall: Portrait of Hua Yan as a Young Man|url=false|author=Hua Yan, Wei Shijie|year=1705|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.120