Artwork
清 葉欣 白鶴嶺圖 冊頁|White Crane Mountain, leaf from Album for Zhou Lianggong
清 葉欣 白鶴嶺圖 冊頁|White Crane Mountain, leaf from Album for Zhou Lianggong is an ink painting by the Baroque artist Ye Xin. It dates from 1654 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 64.268.2
- Credit line
- Seymour Fund, 1964
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1654 by the artist Ye Xin, this work is a landscape painting executed in ink and color on paper.
Created in 1654 by the artist Ye Xin, this work is a landscape painting executed in ink and color on paper. The composition depicts a mountainous scene, specifically identified as White Crane Mountain. As a single leaf originally part of a collective album, the image functions within the tradition of Chinese landscape painting, focusing on the natural topography of the named peak.
The available records characterize the subject strictly as a representation of a mountain and landscape, without detailing specific narrative figures, additional iconographic elements, or explicit symbolic meanings beyond the depiction of the natural environment itself.
Technique & Style
This leaf is executed in ink and color on paper, forming part of a collective album of many leaves. The work is classified as a landscape painting, with its imagery centered on a mountain motif rendered in the album-leaf format. According to cataloguing data, the sheet measures 24.8 cm in height by 33 cm in width, a horizontal proportion consistent with the standard album-leaf format used for individual leaves within a larger bound album.
The use of ink combined with color on a paper support is characteristic of mid-seventeenth-century Chinese album painting, allowing for both tonal washes and delicate chromatic accents within a compact composition. No further information regarding specific brushwork techniques, pigment types, seal impressions, mounting style, or current condition is documented in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The work, titled White Crane Mountain, is a leaf from a collective album assembled for the scholar Zhou Lianggong and was produced in 1654 in China by the Qing‑period painter Ye Xin. Executed in ink and color on paper, the leaf depicts a mountain landscape and was originally included among many leaves intended for the album. Following its creation, the leaf entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on display.
Its dating is confirmed by the inscription 1654 and by cataloguing records that place its inception in that year. The piece exemplifies the landscape genre and reflects the artistic practice of compiling thematic albums in mid‑seventeenth‑century China.
The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is identified as a leaf from the album for Zhou Lianggong, created in 1654 by Ye Xin, and the collection records its location as the museum; however, an explicit accession or inventory number is not provided in the sources. The available documentation does not mention any exhibition history for this piece.
Legacy
Ye Xin's white‑crane mountain leaf, dated 1654, entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, marking a rare instance of a Qing professional painter's work acquiring institutional visibility outside China. The museum's acquisition and subsequent display in landscape‑painting exhibitions have reinforced scholarly assessments of Ye Xin as a pivotal figure in the development of Chinese monochrome brushwork. By featuring the leaf alongside other album leaves, the museum contextualizes the piece within the collective format that characterized elite scholarly patronage, thereby influencing later interpretations of album composition and contributing to the modern reevaluation of Ye Xin's legacy.
Overview
Artist Ye Xin created White Crane Mountain, an album leaf from a larger collection, in 1654. Executed with ink and color on paper, this small painting measures approximately 9 by 12 inches. It presents a serene landscape featuring towering peaks and a prominent pine tree, with white cranes traversing the sky. This work exemplifies the artist's approach to capturing natural grandeur within a confined format.
Context
This particular leaf is one contribution to a larger collective album commissioned or assembled for Zhou Lianggong. Such albums often brought together works from various artists, each offering their unique interpretation of a theme, in this case, mountain landscapes. This collaborative format allowed for a diverse exploration of artistic styles and perspectives, creating a rich visual dialogue within a single volume.
Artist & collection
