View of Mount Huang

Artists

Description

The hanging scroll frames a vertically oriented painting in black ink. Towering mountains fill the bottom three-quarters of the composition. In the foreground, a tall pine tree with horizontally creeping branches stands over a rocky outcropping in the bottom center. Another jagged cliff is visible beyond it to the left, and on the other side of a stretch of mist are two taller and more distant peaks. The central tree is rendered in solid black ink as though backlit. The craggy surfaces of the rocks employ dry brush, and the enshrouding mists are formed from layered washes. A line of Chinese characters runs along the middle of the right side, and two red square seals are found below the inscription and on the bottom left corner.

Dimensions

painting proper: H. 85 × W. 45.5 cm (33 7/16 × 17 15/16 in.) overall mounting: H. 201 × W. 61.8 cm (79 1/8 × 24 5/16 in.)

Provenance

Dong Shouping, Beijing (by 1997), acquired; by Chu-tsing Li, Lawrence, Kansas (by 1997-2012), gift; to his son B U.K. Li, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2012-2021), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2021. Note: Dr. Chu-tsing Li (1920-2014)