Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009690Paintings after Ancient Masters: Portrait of Tao Yuanming
Also known as: Paintings after Ancient Masters: Portrait of T'ao Yüan-ming
About the Artwork
Poet Tao Yuanming (365–427 CE) turned down a career as an official in politically turbulent times to return to his home estate, northwest of Mount Lu, to write poetry and enjoy his garden and wine. Having an ailing foot, he was carried in a basket or walked with a staff. As he grew chrysanthemums, Tao is associated with this flower. The artist Chen Hongshou, active in Zhejiang province, suffered through the violent transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty around 1644. By portraying the poet who lived a millennium earlier during similarly fraught times, Chen intentionally chose an archaistic style.
Inscriptions
老蓮. [印] 洪綬
Provenance
Weng Tonghe 翁同龢 [1830–1904], by descent to Wango H. C. Weng ?–1979: (Wango H. C. Weng 翁萬戈 [1918–2020], Lyme, NH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1979–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982); The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (December 3, 1982-February 28, 1983). Repentant Monk: Illusion and Disillusion in the Art of Chen Hongshou (1599-1652). University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA (organizer) (October 25, 2017-January 28, 2018). China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Chen Hongshou (Chinese, 1598/99–1652)
- Date
- 1598–1652
- Medium
- Album leaf; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions
- Overall: 30.2 x 26.7 cm (11 7/8 x 10 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1979.27.1.5
More by Chen Hongshou in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009690
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