Artwork
南宋？ 佚名 舊傳易元吉 三猿得鷺圖 團 扇頁|Gibbons Raiding an Egret's Nest
南宋？ 佚名 舊傳易元吉 三猿得鷺圖 團 扇頁|Gibbons Raiding an Egret's Nest is an ink painting by the Song dynasty painting artist Yi Yuanji. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This painting, titled Gibbons Raiding an Egret's Nest, is an ink and color work on silk, originally conceived as a fan leaf.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Visually, the composition centers on these animals, specifically identified as gibbons and a bird, situated among branches.
The artwork depicts a genre scene featuring gibbons interacting with an egret within a tree setting. Visually, the composition centers on these animals, specifically identified as gibbons and a bird, situated among branches. While the piece was formerly attributed to the Song dynasty artist Yi Yuanji, known for his mastery of primate subjects, it is now considered the work of an unidentified artist from the Southern Song period.
The title, 'Gibbons Raiding an Egret's Nest,' suggests a narrative moment of conflict or interaction between the species. As a fan painting mounted as an album leaf, the work utilizes ink and color on silk to render this naturalistic observation, focusing on the dynamic relationship between the primates and the bird in their shared environment.
Technique & Style
The work is a painted fan mounted as an album leaf on silk, executed in ink with subtle color washes. Its support is a silk fan format typical of Southern Song album leaves, and the composition depicts three gibbons confronting an egret amid a tree. The piece was created circa 1150 in China and was formerly attributed to the artist Yi Yuanji, though current scholarship treats the painter as unidentified; it is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.
Formal analysis notes a genre-scene layout, delicate brushwork, and a balanced spatial arrangement that emphasizes the animated figures within a naturalistic setting.
History & Provenance
The painted fan, mounted as an album leaf in ink and color on silk, is dated to circa 1150, placing it in the Southern Song period. It was formerly attributed to the Song-dynasty painter Yi Yuanji, but current scholarship treats the artist as unidentified. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is now housed; no earlier owners or commission details are recorded in the available sources.
Its creation history reflects a court-related genre scene of gibbons raiding an egret's nest, executed on a silk fan typical of the period.
The work, titled 'Gibbons Raiding an Egret's Nest,' is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Created around 1150 during the Southern Song period, the piece is executed in ink and color on silk, mounted as a fan leaf within an album. Although traditionally attributed to the painter Yi Yuanji, the museum and scholarly records identify the actual creator as an unidentified artist, noting the attribution as a former designation.
The artwork depicts gibbons and a bird within a tree setting. The sources confirm its current institutional home and its status as a Southern Song fan painting but do not contain specific accession numbers or a detailed chronology of its exhibition history.
Overview
This painting, titled Gibbons Raiding an Egret's Nest, is an ink and color work on silk, originally conceived as a fan leaf. Attributed to an anonymous artist from the Southern Song Dynasty, possibly around 1150, it was once thought to be by Yi Yuanji. The artwork captures a dynamic moment in nature, portraying three agile gibbons interacting with an egret family amidst bamboo, demonstrating a keen observation of animal behavior within a compact format.
Artist & collection
