Zhao Yuan was a member of Suzhou literary circles and a close friend of many late Yuan scholar-painters, including Ni Zan (1306-1374) and Wang Meng (ca. 1308-1385).
Farewell by a Stream on a Clear Day is painted in a style similar to that of Wang Meng. Wang's powerfully expressive brushwork here becomes a vivacious pictorial surface. Zhao's use of dots is especially remarkable; varying in size, shape, darkness, and touch, they not only serve a representational function but also effectively control the overall texture and tonality of the painting. Zhao Yuan's career, like that of many other notable Jiangnan painters, was cut short by the first Ming emperor (r. 1368-98), a man of humble origins who was deeply suspicious of the Suzhou intelligentsia. After summoning Zhao to Nanjing to serve as a painter, the emperor took offense at something Zhao did and had him executed.
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painting
with mounting, rollers and knobs
with mounting, rollers and knobs
lower section of painting
seal and inscription at upper left
seal and inscription at upper right
seal at lower left
Artwork Details
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元 趙原 (元) 晴川送客圖 軸
Title:Farewell by a Stream on a Clear Day
Artist:Zhao Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1350–75)
Period:Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Date:second half 14th century
Culture:China
Medium:Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions:Image: 37 1/2 x 13 7/8 in. (95.3 x 35.2 cm) Overall with mounting: 77 1/4 x 20 1/2 in. (196.2 x 52.1 cm) Overall with knobs: 77 1/4 x 23 3/8 in. (196.2 x 59.4 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Purchase, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, by exchange, 1973
Accession Number:1973.121.8
Inscription: Artist’s inscription and signature (2 columns in standard script)
Zhao Yuan of Jucheng [in Shandong] painted this Farewell by a Stream on a Clear Day for Tuixuan, Liu Guangwen.
On the autumn river on a sunny day, A vast expanse of waves shines bright. With eyes following the sails to the distance, My heart accompanies my guest on his journey. Inscribed by the Emperor on a spring day in the dingmao year [1747]. [Seals]: Ji xia yiqing, De jiaqu
An Qi 安岐 (1683–after1743) Lucun 麓邨 An Yizhou jia zhencang 安儀周家珍藏
Qing emperor Qianlong 清帝乾隆 (r. 1736–1795) Qianlong yulan zhi bao 乾隆御覽之寶 Qianlong jianshang 乾隆鑑賞 Shiqu baoji 石渠寳笈 Sanxi Tang jingjian xi 三希堂精鋻璽 Yi zisun 宜子孫
Zhang Heng 張珩 (1915–1963) Wuxing Zhang shi tushu zhi ji 吳興張氏圖書之記 Zhang Heng siyin 張珩私印 Xinshang 心賞
Wang Jiqian 王季遷 (C. C. Wang, 1907–2003) Wang Jiqian haiwai suojian mingji 王季遷海外所見名跡
Illegible: 1
[ C. C. Wang Family , New York, until 1973; sold to MMA]
Cleveland Museum of Art. "Chinese Art Under the Mongols," October 1, 1968–November 4, 1968.
New York. Asia House Gallery. "Chinese Art Under the Mongols," January 9, 1969–February 2, 1969.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Song and Yuan Paintings: Exhibition of Newly Acquired Chinese Paintings," November 1, 1973–January 20, 1974.
London. British Museum. "Song and Yuan Paintings," November 7, 1975–January 4, 1976.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The New Chinese Galleries: An Inaugural Installation," 1997.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Artist as Collector: Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the C.C.Wang Family Collection," September 2, 1999–January 9, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Millennium of Chinese Painting: Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," September 8, 2001–January 13, 2002.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Painting, Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," August 28, 2004–February 20, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Journeys: Mapping the Earth and Mind in Chinese Art," February 10–August 26, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Yuan Revolution: Art and Dynastic Change," August 21, 2010–January 9, 2011.
Shanghai Museum. "Masterpieces of Chinese Tang, Song and Yuan Paintings from America," November 3, 2012–January 3, 2013.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the Metropolitan Collection (Rotation Two)," May 7–October 11, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Streams and Mountains without End: Landscape Traditions of China," August 26, 2017–January 6, 2019.
Fong, Wen C., and Marilyn Fu. Sung and Yuan Paintings. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1973, pp. 108, 121–25, 150–51, cat. no. 23.
Suzuki Kei 鈴木敬, ed. Chûgoku kaiga sogo zuroku: Daiikan, Amerika-Kanada Hen 中國繪畫總合圖錄: 第一卷 アメリカ - カナダ 編 (Comprehensive illustrated catalog of Chinese paintings: vol. 1 American and Canadian collections) Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1982, p. 3, cat. no. A1-5.
Barnhart, Richard M. Along the Border of Heaven: Sung and Yüan Paintings from the C. C. Wang Family Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983, pp. 147–49, fig. 67.
Fong, Wen C. Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th–14th Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992, pp. 466–67, pls. 110, 110a.
Unidentified artist Chinese, active mid-12th century
mid-12th century
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