Mt. Hua
Junbi Huang
Description
Huang Junbi
China, 1899–1991
Mt. Hua
Modern period (1912–present)
1953
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
Gift of the Marvin Felheim Collection, 1984/2.46
Mt. Hua—known as one of China’s Five Sacred Taoist Mountains—is located in the Shaanxi Province near the city of Huayin in China. According to the artist’s inscription, “Reading my poem composed during my last visit to this mountain-ringed place, I feel that I am there again. I painted my visit to Mt. Hua from my memory.” Huang was renowned for his use of subtle color washes to suggest clouds and water. Here one can almost hear the sounds of the flowing stream and feel the cold, damp air of the clouds.
Born and educated in Guangdong, Huang traveled throughout China in his youth to study paintings by
earlier masters and to sketch from nature. Like many other twentieth-century artists inspired by art practices of the West, Huang often used his direct observations of landscape to bring a fresh perspective to the traditional landscape painting of which he had such deep knowledge. In 1949, when the Communists came to power, Huang fled to Taiwan, where he flourished as both an artist and teacher, transmitting classical painting styles to new generations.
Subject Matter:
Huang Junbi brushed this scene of Mount Hua in Shaanxi Province from memory. Huang was renowned for his use of subtle, trans-parent color washes to suggest clouds and water, and in this painting one can almost hear the sounds of the flowing stream and feel the cold, damp air of the clouds.
Physical Description:
A person mounted on a horse can be seen crossing a bridge over a river among mountains. Mountains among clouds seem to fade away far in the distance.
Inscription:
At the place where mountain chains converge, I am reminded of a landscape I have visited in the past. [Painted on the occasion of] recalling an earlier visit to Mt. Hua, in winter of the Guichou year. [Signed] Junbi.
Usage Rights:
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.