Artwork
明 藍瑛 紅友圖 軸|Red Friend
明 藍瑛 紅友圖 軸|Red Friend is an ink painting by the Baroque artist Lan Ying. It dates from 1649 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The combination of ink with applied color on a paper support is characteristic of literati-influenced painting practices of the late Ming period.
Red Friend is executed in ink and color on paper and presented as a hanging scroll, a traditional format for Chinese easel painting. The work is classified within the landscape genre and dated to 1649, the year of its inception. As a hanging scroll, the painting would have been designed to be mounted, viewed, and stored rolled, allowing periodic handling and display.
The combination of ink with applied color on a paper support is characteristic of literati-influenced painting practices of the late Ming period.
The piece is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued under accession number 1979.26, indicating its status as a museum-held work subject to professional conservation standards.
History & Provenance
The hanging scroll titled Red Friend was created by the Chinese artist Lan Ying in 1649. Executed in ink and color on paper, the work depicts a landscape genre. The Metropolitan Museum of Art currently holds the piece within its collection, having acquired it in 1979 under the accession number 1979.26. The artwork originates from China and is classified as a painting from the Ming period.
The hanging scroll Red Friend by Lan Ying, dated 1649, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The institution identifies the work with the accession number 1979.26. Created in China using ink and color on paper, the piece is classified within the museum's paintings department as a landscape genre work.
Context
Lan Ying created Red Friend in 1649 as a hanging scroll landscape using ink and color on paper. The work is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, reflecting the museum's documented acquisition of this piece. Lan Ying, active during the Ming dynasty, is recognized for blending traditional Chinese landscape aesthetics with subtle compositional innovations, situating his work within broader scholarly discussions of late Ming artistic transitions.
Overview
Created in 1649 during the Ming period, this hanging scroll by Lan Ying presents a solitary rock formation rendered in ink and color on paper. The work measures as a single vertical segment of a longer scroll, a format typical of East Asian painting, allowing the viewer to focus on the isolated natural subject.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a rugged stone rendered in muted pinks and grays, its jagged outline emphasized by darker strokes. The title, “Red Friend,” suggests an affectionate reference to the warm hue of the rock, inviting contemplation of the stone as a companion within the landscape.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lan Ying grew up in the southeastern city of Hangzhou, where misty mountains roll into the sea.
