The Yueyang Pavilion 岳陽樓圖

Object Details

• Artist

  Xia Yong 夏永 (active mid-14th century)

• Label

  The original pavilion depicted in this album leaf was erected during the early eighth century on the west gate of Yueyang, in Hunan Province, facing Dongting Lake. Over the centuries it was restored numerous times and entirely rebuilt in 1867. The most famous reconstruction was undertaken in 1044 by the local prefect Teng Zijing (991-1047), who two years later asked the eminent statesman and prose stylist Fan Zhongyan (989-1052) to compose a record of the pavilion to commemorate his efforts. Among the best-known prose works in Chinese literature, Fan's text was recorded on the painting in minute script by the fourteenth-century artist, Xia Yong, who also applied one of his seals.

  Together with The Pavilion of the Prince of Teng (F1915.36h), this album leaf is a masterpiece of jiehua (ruled-line) ink painting, a term that originated in the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Deriving from a long tradition of architectural drawing, jiehua is the only non-freehand style of Chinese painting. The brush was attached to a stick that could move smoothly along a groove in an ungraduated ruler called a jiechi, thus allowing the artist to draw regularly spaced and consistently even straight lines.

  To learn more about this and similar objects, visit http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/default.asp Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy.

• Provenance

  To 1915

  Tonying and Company, New York to 1915 [1]

  From 1915 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Tonying and Company, New York in 1915 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Album List, pg. 48, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. By at least 1917, Tonying and Company maintained business locations in Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, London, and New York, NY.

  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

  Tales of the Brush: Literary Masterpieces in Chinese Painting (July 28, 2007 to January 13, 2008)

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

  Masterpieces of Chinese Painting (III) (May 29, 1999 to January 30, 2000)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

  Chinese Album Leaves (December 17, 1962 to April 8, 1963)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Tonying and Company

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Pavilion, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Jiehua, Chinese Art, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings