Cleveland Museum of Art
Layered Peaks and Splashing Waterfall: Portrait of Hua Yan as a Young Man
Hua YanLinkedCulture matchlcp-2ee46b83b347
- Date
- 1705
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Culture
- China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 161781
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
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. Hua Yan's autobiographical inscription, full of remorse and insecurity, is squeezed into the contour of a hill in the upper left.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Gift of various donors by exchange
- Provenance
- 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
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