Artwork
清 葉欣 聼雪圖 冊頁|Snowscape, leaf from Album for Zhou Lianggong
清 葉欣 聼雪圖 冊頁|Snowscape, leaf from Album for Zhou Lianggong is an ink painting by the Baroque artist Ye Xin. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 2015.784.6
- Credit line
- Gift of Julia and John Curtis, 2015
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work's iconography is defined by the stark depiction of a wintry environment, utilizing ink and color on paper to render the quiet stillness of a snowscape.
Executed in 1650, this double album leaf by Ye Xin presents a landscape scene dominated by snow-covered mountains. The work's iconography is defined by the stark depiction of a wintry environment, utilizing ink and color on paper to render the quiet stillness of a snowscape. As a genre painting, the subject focuses entirely on the natural world, specifically the interaction between the rugged mountain forms and the accumulating snow.
The title, often translated as 'Listening to Snow,' suggests a contemplative engagement with the atmosphere rather than a narrative event, representing the serene and isolated beauty of nature in winter. The composition serves as a visual meditation on the seasonal transformation of the landscape, emphasizing the silence and purity associated with heavy snowfall in the Chinese artistic tradition.
Technique & Style
Created in 1650, this landscape leaf by Ye Xin is executed in ink and color on paper. It functions as a double album leaf, originally part of a collective album of twelve paintings that included facing pages of calligraphy. The work depicts a mountainous scene covered in snow, adhering to the landscape genre.
Physically, the sheet measures 24.8 cm in height and 33 cm in width. As a paper support, it reflects the traditional handling of album leaves intended for intimate viewing and collective compilation. The formal qualities emphasize the depiction of snow and mountains, characteristic of the artist's style during this period. The piece is currently held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.
History & Provenance
Created in 1650 by the artist Ye Xin, this work is a double album leaf featuring ink and color on paper. The piece functions as one half of a facing page arrangement within a collective album comprising twelve paintings paired with calligraphy. The work's title identifies it as part of an album created for Zhou Lianggong.
The painting depicts a snowy mountain landscape and has entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is classified as a landscape painting. Its dimensions are recorded as 24.8 cm in height and 33 cm in width. No specific accession number is provided in the cited sources, and exhibition history is not documented in the available records.
Overview
Snowscape, leaf from Album for Zhou Lianggong is a painting by Ye Xin, created in 1650. Rendered with ink and color on paper, this double album leaf depicts a serene winter landscape. It forms one part of a larger collective album, which originally comprised twelve individual paintings, each accompanied by a facing page of calligraphy. The work captures a quiet moment within a snowy mountain environment.
Context
This particular "Snowscape" is an integral component of a collaborative album comprising twelve leaves. Each page was contributed by a different artist, with an opposing leaf reserved for calligraphic inscription. Such albums were often created among circles of literati friends, intended as gifts or keepsakes, reflecting shared aesthetic sensibilities and intellectual exchange, in this case, for Zhou Lianggong.
Artist & collection
Willow and Waterfall
Writing Books under the Pine Trees
Landscape in the Style of Chao Yuan
Writing Books under the Pine Trees
清 王槩 設計，李漁出版 芥子園畫傳 版本|Snowy Peaks Touching the Heavens, in the manner of Snow-covered Inn by Jing Hao (active ca. 870–ca. 930), from the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting
Fushan Monastery
Fushan Monastery
Untitled