Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009407About the Artwork
Two figures sit conversing in a thatched cottage. This painting illustrates two poetic lines: My guest came to sit beyond the dust, In a narrow room, we talked about the autumnal sounds of autumn. Hua Yan presented an intimate world—simple and rustic—amid a landscape. The cool wilderness depicted in this work conveys an aloofness that may reveal the inner world of a scholar-artist who failed the civil service examination but preserved a sense of pride and endurance in his humble surroundings.
Inscriptions
Artist's inscription, signature, and 2 seals: On a winter day in the renzi year [1732], while leisurely sitting in my mountain pavilion, I happened to have imitated the brush style of Yuan masters on the two verses: "A guest came from the dusty world for a visit; in the small cottage we talked about the sound of autumn." Xin luo shan ren 新羅山人 [seals] Hua Yan 華喦; Qiuyue 秋岳.; 1 colophon and 2 seals of Zhang Tingji 張廷濟 (1768–1848): Old Hua [Yan], in this painting, was able to evoke the mood of desolation in nature and match the poetry elegantly. If Fangweng [Lu You 陸游 (1125–1210)] saw this, he would inscribe the painting with two words "idyllic world 詩境."; 新羅山人為吾鄉老輩，擅長寫生。羅致羽族，翫其飛鳴飲啄。故所作別有生趣。山水不多。作客冬在西泠，見所白雲松舎圖。空靈曠逸，得未曾有，至今憶之。兹幅以蒼秀勝，荒寒之中，復饒逸趣。如坐我鵠灣、龍瀃間矣。; 1 colophon and 1 seal of Zhu Angzhi 朱昂之 (1764–1841): The highest achievement in the art of painting is to penetrate deeply into the chamber of old masters, but at the same time transcend the bounds of conventional rules. This painting of Xinluo is derived from [the style of] Baishi (Shen Zhou 沈周, 1427–1509) and Baoshan (Lu Zhi 陸治, 1496–1576) with splashed-ink technique of Wang Qia 王洽 (Wang Mo 王默, ?–805), in addition to his own innovative ideas. Hence the distinctive style. Truly, he is one of those who passed through the net of the Six Canons [of Xie He 謝赫, 479–502]; treasure it.; 2 seals of Ye Tingguan 葉廷琯 (b. 1791); 1 seal unidentified.
Provenance
Ye Tingguan 葉廷琯 [b. 1791] Sun Zutong 孫祖同 [1894–1937] Yu Zituo 虞子垞 [early 20th century] ?–1954: (Walter Hochstadter [1914–2007], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1954–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Chinese Landscape Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5-December 26, 1954). Master of Landscape: East and West. Munson Museum of Art, Utica, NY (organizer) (September 15-October 13, 1963); Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (November 1-December 1, 1963). Fantastics and Eccentrics in Chinese Painting. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (March 23-May 28, 1967); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (June 20-August 13, 1967); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA (September 15-November 5, 1967). Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982); The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (December 3, 1982-February 28, 1983). Mountains, Rocks, and Water: Landscape Painting in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-December 13, 1987). Ji Yun-Fei: Last Days of Village Wen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-July 31, 2016).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Hua Yan (Chinese, 1682–c. 1765)
- Date
- 1732
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and light color on paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 218.5 x 71.7 cm (86 x 28 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1954.263
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Open-access museum record · AT-00009407
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