Strangely faceted rocks—thought of as miniature mountains—have been treasured by collectors since the Tang dynasty (618–907). This portrait of a rock called Red Friend is painted without surrounding garden elements, freeing the viewer to imagine its setting.
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painting only
with mounting, rollers and knobs
Artwork Details
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明 藍瑛 紅友圖 軸
Title:Red Friend
Artist:Lan Ying (Chinese, 1585–1664)
Period:Ming (1368–1644) or Qing (1644–1911) dynasty
Date:17th century
Culture:China
Medium:Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions:Image: 58 5/8 x 18 5/8 in. (148.9 x 47.3 cm) Overall with mounting: 85 3/4 x 25 5/8 in. (217.8 x 65.1 cm) Overall with knobs: 85 3/4 x 29 in. (217.8 x 73.7 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse, in honor of Douglas Dillon, 1979
Object Number:1979.26
Inscription: Artist's inscription and signature (1 column in clerical script and 1 column in semi-cursive script)
Red Friend I painted this at the Shenyan Tang Studio. Lan Ying
紅友 申燕堂畫此。藍瑛
Artist's seals: Lan Ying zhi yin 藍瑛之印 Tianshu fu 田叔父
Collectors’ seals
Wang Jiqian 王季遷 (C. C. Wang, 1907–2003) Yuzhu Ju zhencang shuhua zhi yin 有竹居珍藏書畫之印
Mu Si 穆思 (Earl Morse, 1908–1988) Mu Si shoucang mingji 穆思收藏名跡 (on mounting)
Unidentified Qingxi Jianding 晴溪鋻定
Marking:
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse , New York (by 1969–76; to MMA)
Zurich. Museum Rietberg. "The Passion for Rocks in China," May 17, 1998–August 30, 1998.
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. "The World of Scholars' Rocks: Gardens, Studios, and Paintings," February 1–August 20, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cultivated Landscapes: Reflections of Nature in Chinese Painting with Selections from the Collection of Marie-Hélène and Guy Weill," September 10, 2002–February 9, 2003.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Douglas Dillon Legacy: Chinese Painting for the Metropolitan Museum," March 12–August 8, 2004.
Paris. Musée Guimet. "Rochers de lettrés itinéraires de l'art en Chine," March 25, 2012–June 25, 2012.
New York. Noguchi Museum. "Museum of Stones," October 7, 2015–January 10, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Show and Tell: Stories in Chinese Painting," October 29, 2016–August 6, 2017.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Streams and Mountains without End: Landscape Traditions of China," August 26, 2017–January 6, 2019.
Murck, Alfreda, and Wen C. Fong. A Chinese Garden Court: The Astor Court at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980, p. 52, fig. 48.
Morris, Edwin T. The Gardens of China: History, Art and Meanings. New York: Scribner, 1983, p. 162.
Musée Guimet. Rochers de lettrés: itinéraires de l'art en Chine (Scholar’s Rocks: The Routes of Art in China). Exh. cat. Edited by Delacour, Catherine. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux , Musée des arts asiatiques Guimet, 2012, p. 35, cat. no. 83, fig. 10.
Dakin Hart, ed. Museum of Stones: Ancient and Contemporary Art at the Noguchi Museum. Exh. cat. Long Island City, NY: Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, 2016, p. 105.
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