Tasting tea
Chen HongshouNot dated
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Hong Kong , Hong Kong
Chen's figure painting style is highly idiosyncratic and shows the brushwork of a professional artist. This painting is a typical example: crisp, angular lines that resemble woodcut, with a deliberate simplicity that harks back to works of earlier artists. The draping of robes and sleeves reminds one of the linear drawing techniques of Gu Kaizhi (ca. 344 - 405) of Jin and Li Gonglin (1049 - 1106) of Song. The flamboyant air and form suggest the decorative purpose of the work. Flanking the two gentlemen sipping tea are plantain leaves and rockery, which are exquisitely done to enhance the figurative forms, while the few stems of lotus in the vase and the large area of negative space highlight the reclusive mood.
- Title: Tasting tea
- Creator Lifespan: 1598 - 1652
- Creator Nationality: Chinese
- Creator Gender: Male
- Creator Birth Place: Zhuji, Zhejiang province, China
- Date Created: Not dated
- Theme: Figure, Tea drinking, Chinese literati
- Professional Artist: Chen Hongshou
- Physical Dimensions: w47 x h86 cm
- History of Donation: The Xubaizhai Gallery of Chinese Art was established in 1992, specifically for exhibiting the collection that donated to the Hong Kong Museum of Art by the famous connoisseur and collector of Chinese calligraphy and paintings, Mr Low Chuck Tiew (Liu Zuochou) in 1989.
- Artist's Biography: Chen Hongshou, also known as Zhanghou and Laolian, was from Zhuji in Zhejiang province. At the collapse of the Ming dynasty, he became a monk in order to escape persecution. In his old age, he made a living by selling paintings in the towns of Shaoxing and Hangzhou. He had studied under Lan Ying (1585 - 1664) and was very fond of the style of Xu Wei (1521 - 1593). He was a drinker and a learned man, and his pursuit of ancient grace can be glimpsed through all the subjects of his paintings. His style shows characteristics of the ancient Jin period and this had a strong impact on later artists, such as the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", Ren Xiong (1823 - 1857) and Ren Yi (1840 - 1895). His blockprints, including "Leaves of the Outlaws of the Marshes" and "Legend of the West Chamber", are widely available and provide important material for the research in the history of figure painting in China.
- Type: Ink and colour on silk
Get the app
Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more
