Summer Mountains

Attributed to Qu Ding Chinese

ca. 1050

Not on view

Between the years 900 and 1100, Chinese painters created visions of landscape that depicted the sublimity of creation. Viewers are meant to identify with the human figures in these paintings. In Summer Mountains, travelers make their way toward a temple retreat. The central mountain sits in commanding majesty, like an emperor among his subjects, the culmination of nature’s hierarchy. The advanced use of texture strokes and ink wash suggests that Summer Mountains is by a master working about 1050, a date corroborated by collectors’ seals belonging to the Song emperor Huizong (r. 1101–25), whose paintings catalogue records three works entitled Summer Scenery by the otherwise unknown artist Qu Ding.

Artwork Details

北宋傳屈鼎夏山圖卷
Title: Summer Mountains
Artist: Attributed to Qu Ding (Chinese, active ca. 1023–ca. 1056)
Period: Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Date: ca. 1050
Culture: China
Medium: Handscroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Image: 17 7/8 × 45 3/8 in. (45.4 × 115.3 cm)
Overall with mounting: 18 1/4 in. × 23 ft. 2 in. (46.4 × 706.1 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973
Object Number: 1973.120.1
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

Audio

7311. Summer Mountains, Part 1

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