Mountains of the Immortals

Also known as: The Land of Immortals; The Land of the Immortals

About the Artwork

The landscape in deep green tones offers a view into a secluded mountain valley, populated by ancient figures surrounded by deer and cranes, all under high pine trees. A red-robed immortal in the air steers his crane toward the paradise land. This idyllic scene was presumably created amid the tumultuous transition from the Yuan to the Ming dynasty. Chen from Suzhou supported major rebel leaders, first Zhang Shicheng (1321–1367) with his base in Suzhou and then his rival Zhu Yuanzhang in Nanjing, after the latter had established the Ming dynasty. Chen was executed in 1371.

Inscriptions

1 inscription, 3 colophons, and 37 seals: 1 inscription, dated 1371, by Ni Zan 倪瓚 (1301-1374); 17 seals of Xiang Yuanbian 項元汴 (1525-1590); 4 seals of Chu Chih-ch'ih (late Ming Dynasty); 1 seal of Liang Qingbiao 梁淸標 (1620-1691); 1 seal of Gao Shiqi 高士奇 (1645-1704); 4 seals of Lu Xinyuan 陸心源 (1834-1894); 1 colophon, dated 1908, and 5 seals of Jing Xian 景贒; 1 colophon, dated 1915, by Lung Yu; 1 colophon, dated 1932, and 2 seals of Wu Mei; 3 seals unidentified.; 仙山圖，陳君惟允所畫。秀潤清遠，深得趙榮祿筆意。其人已矣，今不可復得。辛亥十二月二日倪瓚; Colophon by Jing Xian 景贒: The preceding Land of Immortals is an authentic work of the Yuan master, Chen Weiyun 陳惟允. According to the Yu yi bian 寓意編 by Du Mu 都穆of the Ming Dynasty, the painting was seen at the home of Chen Mengxian 陳孟賢 [c. 1500], a hermit. It is also recorded in Yu yi lu 寓意錄 of the present [Qing] era. The dimensions and the seals are all correct. When the painting went into the possession of Liang Qingbiao 梁淸標, the silk was already quite dilapidated. The only thing now missing, however, is the one line of writing by Xiang Zijing 項子京 [Xiang Yuanbian 項元汴] who records the original price he paid, being fifteen taels of silver. This must have been cut off by the dealer, which nevertheless did no harm to a masterpiece such as this. Jing Xian recorded this in the second month of the maoshen year [1908].

Provenance

Xiang Yuanbian 項元汴 [1525–1590] Liang Qingbiao 梁清標 [1620–1691] ?–1997: Mrs. A. Dean [Helen Wade Greene] Perry [1911–1996], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1997–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-November 24, 1968). Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998). Taoism and the Arts of China. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (November 11, 2000-January 7, 2001); Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (February 21-May 13, 2001). The World of Kubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 20, 2010-January 2, 2011). China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).

Quick Overview

Artist: Chen Ruyan (Chinese, c. 1331–1371)
Date: 1300–1370
Medium: Handscroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Painting only: 33.4 x 97.3 cm (13 1/8 x 38 5/16 in.); height: 35 cm (13 3/4 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession no.: 1997.95

More by Chen Ruyan in museum collections

The Woodcutter of Luofu
Chen Ruyan
1366 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009669

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.