Picture of the Cinnabar Peak / Sun Yi (Sun I)
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1987/1.155
- Title
- Picture of the Cinnabar Peak
- Artist
- Sun Yi (Sun I)
- Artist Nationality
- Chinese
- Artist Life Dates
- active mid-17th century
- Medium and Support
- hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1657
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- China (nation)
- Anhui (province)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- China (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Anhui (province)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Professor Richard and Vee Ling Edwards
- Inscription
- Inscription and seal of artist; Colophon and two seals by Yie Chung-lu (20th century)
- Dimensions
- 114 cm x 46.4 cm (44 7/8 in. x 18 1/4 in.)
- Century
- 17th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- hanging scroll
- Secondary Object Classification
- Painting
- Secondary Object Type
- landscape
- Physical Description
- This is a delicate landscape. There are mountain crags, dispersed trees and bushes, and some houses/huts depicted. There is calligraphy on the upper right hand corner with one red seal, and towards the upper left corner with a red seal. There is also another red seal on the lower left hand corner. The colors are muted and are barely discernable from one another. There is a central jutting rock in the center of the painting that takes up a lot of horizontal space, and encourages the eye to travel upwards.
- Subject Matter
- This work depicts Mount Huang (Yellow Mountain), located in Anhui province in south-central China. A site of extraordinary natural beauty noted for its range of rocky peaks, it was a favorite subject of poets and painters for centuries. For artists from the region, including Sun Yi, whose hometown was at the foot of the peaks, Mount Huang was an inexhaustible theme. After the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) fell to the invading Manchus, Mount Huang took on a particular political significance. The isolated red peak towering/jutting above the surrounding green mountains in this painting most likely alludes to the struggle of the failing Ming court against the onslaught of the Manchus. This interpretation is strengthened by the artist’s inscription, which references/quotes a description of Mount Lu by the writer Wang Siren (dates?), known for his loyalty to the Ming court. Wang describes the mountain as “a red-colored castle on fire,” whose “high pinnacle almost pierces through the many layers of clouds.” [These words in combination with the image suggest Sun Yi’s [hopes for the eventual triumph of [Manchu-ruled Qing].
- Examples of Sun Yi’s painting are extremely rare; The Cinnabar Peak, his only painting outside of China, is by far the finest example. (171 words)
- Secondary Keywords
- upward
- architecture
- buildings and the land
- descriptors
- genres
- geography
- houses
- inorganic material
- landforms
- landforms and landform components
- landforms by shape or position
- landscapes (environments)
- materials
- materials by composition
- natural landscapes
- objects we use
- paintings
- paintings by form
- plants
- scroll paintings
- settlements and landscapes
- the natural world
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 753 x 1489
- File Size
- 100 KB
- Record
- 1987/1.155
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.155/1987_1.155.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1987-SL-1.155:1987_1.155.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Picture of the Cinnabar Peak; Sun Yi (Sun I)." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.155/1987_1.155.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 13, 2024.