The Hall of Scenic Beauty 有美堂圖

Object Details

• Artist

  Copy after Qiu Ying 仇英 (ca. 1494-1552)

• Description

  Depicts, in the "blue and green style," a dwelling with an open pavilion overlooking a bay. The mountainous landscape is dotted with various trees, some flowering; roofs of a group of buildings can be seen at the right. Groups of commercial and fishing boats are moored and sailing in the bay. In the open pavilion, two attendants stand beside three gentlemen who are seated at a table set with food and drink. Two figures occupy a room below. Outside the building, a groom attends a horse, an attendant carries a rolled banner, and another carries a bundle of scrolls. Six seals, siganture and inscription, label on back. One of two with F1909.157.

• Signatures

  Signature on back

• Marks

  Six seals, label on back.

• Inscriptions

  Inscription on back

• Label

  The Hall of Scenic Beauty was built in 1057 by the imperial favorite Mei Zhi (act. 1020s-60s), while he was stationed in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Two years later, he requested the renowned prose master Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072) to memorialize the hall. An excerpt from this text is inscribed on the painting at upper right. Built between a river and a lake and bounded by mountains, the city of Hangzhou was widely considered one of the most beautifully situated urban centers in the empire. Providing both a panorama of the city below and a commanding view of the natural surroundings, the Hall of Scenic Beauty became a popular destination for day trips and appears in many contemporary poems.

  This painting is a seventeenth-century copy of a composition attributed to the Ming dynasty painter Qiu Ying, whose spurious signature appears at lower left. The excerpt from Ouyang Xiu's essay at upper right was ostensibly written by the famous calligrapher Zhu Yunming (1461-1527), however the style of writing does not resemble his known works. This scroll is one of a pair with F1909.157.

• Provenance

  To 1909

  Loon Gu Sai, Beijing, to 1909 [1]

  From 1909 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Loon Gu Sai, Beijing, in 1909 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 614, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. According to Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), Loon Gu Sai was possibly Lunguzhai, a store in the antiques district of Liulichang.

  This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Palaces and Pavilions: Grand Architecture in Chinese Painting (September 29, 2002 to March 30, 2003)

  On the River (April 01, 1995 to January 23, 1996)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Loon Gu Sai (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1600s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Sai, Loon Gu

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Blue-and-green style, Boats and boating, Art, Chinese Art, Rivers, Spring, Fishing, Charles Lang Freer collection, Landscapes, Animals, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Horses, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Business

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings