Morning Sun over Heavenly Citadel Peak

Also known as: Morning Sun over the "Heavenly Citadel"; Morning Sun Over the Mountain of Heavenly Citadel; Morning Sun over the Heavenly Citadel Peak

About the Artwork

A birthday gift, this scroll by Ding Yunpeng from Anhui is among the earliest paintings of Mount Huang (Yellow Mountains), here depicting Heavenly Citadel Peak. The mountains are named after the legendary Yellow emperor who is said to have visited the place to look for the essence of immortality. Deep red strokes accentuate vegetation and allude to cinnabar, the alleged elixir of immortality. Difficult to climb and access, Mount Huang in Anhui province did not become a destination for hikers nor a subject for artists before the late Ming dynasty, when steps were built. Today its towering peaks are a national site and tourist attraction.

Inscriptions

Artist's inscription, signature, and 2 seals: Clouds arise from the dale of the "Dark Plateau," The morning sun is over the peak of the Heavenly Citadel. In mid-spring of the chia-yen year of the Wan-li era [1614], painted as a fiftieth birthday present to Mr. Chung-lu. Junior Friend of Family Alliance, Ting Yün-p'eng [seals] Yün-p'eng chih yin; Ting Nan-yü.; 10 additional seals: 5 of Kao Hsiang-ling (dates unknown); 5 unidentified.

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1965. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27-November 14, 1965). Chinese Paintings: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 7-April 5, 1981). Mountains, Rocks, and Water: Landscape Painting in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-December 13, 1987). 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: Ding Yunpeng (Chinese, 1547-c. 1628)
Date: 1614
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and light color on paper
Dimensions: Painting: 212.7 x 55.4 cm (83 3/4 x 21 13/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 344.1 x 87.7 cm (135 1/2 x 34 1/2 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession no.: 1965.28

Provenance

Chin Ch'uang-sheng ?–1965: (Jean-Pierre Dubosc [1903–1988], Paris, France, and Lugano, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1965–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

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