2017.302: Gazing at the Moon

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2017.302

People

Wan Qingli 萬青力, Chinese (Beijing 1945 - 2017)

Title

Gazing at the Moon

Other Titles

Original Language Title: 眺月圖

Classification

Paintings

Work Type

wall scroll, painting

Date

1982

Culture

Chinese

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/330482

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Hanging scroll; blue pigment on Xuan paper

Dimensions

painting proper: 103.5 x 75.5 cm (40 3/4 x 29 3/4 in.)
mounting: 134 x 91 cm (52 3/4 x 35 13/16 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: Title, dated inscription, and signature in brush-written Chinese characters, upper left: 眺月圖 胸中自有山林趣 恥向人前賣畫名 掩卷焚香舖素紙 邀來明月照空濛 八二年夏畫 八五年初記 青力
  
  [Inscription indicates painting done in summer 1982 and inscribed in 1985. Signed "Qingli"].
• seal:
• seal: Square red relief artist's seal, following signature: "Wan"
• seal: Square red intaglio artist's seal, following signature: "Qingli"
• seal:
• seal:

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Wan Qingli, Beijing and Laurence, Kansas (1982-1985), gift; to Chu-tsing Li, Lawrence, Kansas (1985-2012), gift; to his son B U.K. Li, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2012-2017), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2017.

Footnotes:
1. Dr. Chu-tsing Li (1920-2014)
2. Artist Wan Qingli painted this artwork in 1982 in Beijing, and later inscribed the painting in 1985, when he was studying at University of Kansas.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Chu-tsing Li Collection, Gift of B U.K. Li in memory of Chu-tsing Li, Yao-wen Kwang Li, and Teri Ho Li

Copyright

© Estate of Wan Qingli

Accession Year

2017

Object Number

2017.302

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Executed in blue pigment on paper, this vertically oriented painting depicts a night scene of a lone female figure standing atop an outcrop of boulders surrounded by the ocean, her back to the viewer, her gaze squarely fixed on the moon as it descends toward the horizon. The artist's inscription that runs vertically from the upper left corner down the left edge of the patinging indicates that the work was painted in the summer of 1982 but inscribed by the artist in 1985.

Exhibition History

• 32Q: 2600 East Asian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/04/2023 - 12/04/2023

Verification Level