Who painted 清倣梅清響山泛舟圖軸|Boating beneath Echo Hill?

清倣梅清響山泛舟圖軸|Boating beneath Echo Hill was painted by Mei Qing in datable to 1673.

Where can I see 清倣梅清響山泛舟圖軸|Boating beneath Echo Hill?

清倣梅清響山泛舟圖軸|Boating beneath Echo Hill is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is 清倣梅清響山泛舟圖軸|Boating beneath Echo Hill?

清倣梅清響山泛舟圖軸|Boating beneath Echo Hill is associated with Baroque.

清倣梅清響山泛舟圖軸|Boating beneath Echo Hill by Mei Qing (datable to 1673)

About this work

A small boat glides beneath a steep, misty hill, the water empty but for one rower and a few strokes of ink. Trees cling to the rocks like dark fingers. Mei Qing painted it in 1673 with a dry brush that makes the mountain look rough enough to touch, and the quiet feels lived-in rather than staged.

Subject & Meaning

By placing a modest vessel within an expansive, mist‑shrouded setting, the artist emphasizes themes of serenity, impermanence, and the pursuit of inner peace.

The work shows a solitary boat drifting on a winding river beneath Echo Hill, a scene that combines naturalistic detail with idealized scenery. The boat functions as a symbol of scholarly retreat and contemplative movement through nature, while the surrounding landscape conveys harmony between humanity and the environment. By placing a modest vessel within an expansive, mist‑shrouded setting, the artist emphasizes themes of serenity, impermanence, and the pursuit of inner peace.

This iconography aligns with traditional Chinese literati motifs that use water and boats to suggest the transitory nature of worldly concerns.

Technique & Style

Boating beneath Echo Hill is executed as a hanging scroll using ink on paper, a traditional support for Chinese landscape painting. Datable to 1673, the work demonstrates the artist's engagement with the ink medium to render a river scene featuring a boat within a broader landscape. As a hanging scroll, the format dictates a vertical composition intended for wall display, characteristic of the genre.

The piece is classified within the landscape tradition, focusing on the depiction of natural elements such as the river and surrounding terrain. The use of ink on paper allows for variations in tonal density and brushwork typical of the period, though specific handling details regarding the brushstrokes or condition are not detailed in the available records. The work remains part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

History & Provenance

Mei Qing created the hanging scroll titled Boating beneath Echo Hill around 1673 in China. The work, executed in ink on paper, depicts a boat on a river within a landscape composition. According to the internal catalogue entry, the piece is classified as a landscape painting from the Qing period.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art currently holds the scroll, listing it in its collection and noting its creation in China. No earlier owners are recorded in the available documentation.

The hanging scroll Boating beneath Echo Hill is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While the work is attributed to the artist Mei Qing and dated to 1673, the provided sources do not specify a unique accession or inventory number for this piece. Furthermore, the available documentation does not record any specific exhibition history for the painting, listing only its current location and general classification as a landscape painting. No further details regarding past displays or loan records are contained within the referenced materials.

Overview

Mei Qing's "Boating beneath Echo Hill," created in 1673, is an ink on paper hanging scroll. It portrays a small boat with a lone figure moving across serene waters, overshadowed by a steep, misty mountain. The work evokes a profound sense of quietude and introspection, reflecting a timeless quality in its depiction of nature. This piece exemplifies the contemplative spirit often found in Chinese landscape art.

明文嘉為項元汴作山水圖軸|Landscape dedicated to Xiang Yuanbian, Wen Jia

Artist & collection

Artist

Mei Qing

Mei Qing (Chinese: 梅清; pinyin: Méi Qīng; Wade–Giles: Mei Ch'ing; ca. 1623–1697) was a Chinese landscape painter, calligrapher and poet active during the Qing Dynasty. Mei was born in Xuancheng, Anhui Province. His…