Artwork
元 倪瓚 虞山林壑圖 軸|Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu
元 倪瓚 虞山林壑圖 軸|Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu is an ink painting by the Yuan dynasty literati painting artist Ni Zan. It dates from 1372 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1372, this hanging scroll by Ni Zan depicts a landscape centered on a mountain, consistent with its title, Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu.
Created in 1372, this hanging scroll by Ni Zan depicts a landscape centered on a mountain, consistent with its title, Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu. Executed in ink on paper, the work functions as a genre landscape painting that visually represents the natural topography of its named subject. The iconography is restricted to the depiction of mountains and the surrounding environment, characterizing the piece as a direct representation of a specific geographic or imagined locale rather than a narrative scene.
As a landscape genre work, the painting serves to illustrate the physical features of Mount Yu, focusing on the interplay between the elevated terrain and the wooded valleys implied by the title.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1372, this work is a hanging scroll created with ink on paper. As a landscape painting originating from China, it depicts mountains and wooded valleys. The composition utilizes monochromatic ink to render the natural topography of Mount Yu.
The piece measures 35.8 centimeters in width. Currently held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the artwork represents Ni Zan's approach to the landscape genre during the Yuan dynasty, focusing on the structural elements of the terrain through ink application on a paper support.
History & Provenance
Created in 1372, Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu is an ink-on-paper hanging scroll painted by the Yuan dynasty artist Ni Zan. The work depicts a landscape featuring mountains and valleys, executed in China during the late Yuan period. Currently held within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the painting measures 35.8 centimeters in width.
While the specific commission details and the full chain of ownership prior to its arrival at the museum are not detailed in the available records, the work is firmly dated to 1372 based on historical attribution. The piece remains a significant example of Ni Zan's landscape style from the fourteenth century.
Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu, a 1372 hanging scroll by Ni Zan, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum lists the work within its paintings division, identifying it as a landscape depicting mountains. While the source material confirms the artwork's current location and institutional custody, it does not provide a specific accession or inventory number, nor does it document a history of exhibitions for this piece.
The work remains part of the museum's permanent holdings, with physical dimensions recorded as 35.8 centimeters in width.
Overview
Ni Zan, a prominent figure among the Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty, created Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu in 1372. This ink-on-paper hanging scroll exemplifies the literati painting tradition, emphasizing personal expression through landscape. The work, executed late in the artist's life, presents a serene and sparse natural scene, characteristic of his distinctive style and the broader Yuan aesthetic.
Context
Ni Zan, active during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, was seventy-one years old when he painted this work. His later years were marked by extensive travel and a withdrawal from official life, a personal context often reflected in the solitary and austere nature of his landscapes. As one of the Four Masters of the Yuan, his work significantly shaped the trajectory of Chinese ink painting, influencing subsequent generations of literati artists.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ni Zan (simplified Chinese: 倪瓒; traditional Chinese: 倪瓚; Wade–Giles: Ni2 Tsan4; 1301–1374) was a Chinese painter during the Yuan and early Ming periods.
