Beauties and Heroes: Legends and Stories in Chinese Art
(from 21st Jan until 15th Jul 2012)Explore paintings, prints and papercuts depicting legendary figures from Chinese folklore.
The poet Su Dongpo
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Description
Su Dongpo (1037-1101), also known as Su Shi, was one of the greatest calligraphers and poets of the Northern Song dynasty. Ren Zhenhan depicts him as a character from one of his own poems, carrying a stick, dressed in hermit’s clothes. He also uses a specific brushwork style, noted by Su Dongpo when describing the calligraphy of his contemporary Huang Tingjian (1045-1105), of a ‘snake hanging from a tree’. The work was in fact painted in the year of the snake. Ren favoured literary subjects for his figure paintings, and this work may be compared with other Shanghai School figures of the 19th century.
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Details
- Associated place
- Date
- 1989
- Artist/maker
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Ren Zhenhan (1907 - 1991) (artist)
- Associated people
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Su Shi (1037 - 1101) (subject)
- Material and technique
- ink and colour on paper
- Dimensions
- 95 x 50 cm (height x width)
- Material index
- Technique index
- Object type index
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Presented in honour of the forthcoming 70th birthdays of Jose Mauricio and Angelita Trinidad Reyes, 1995.
- Accession no.
- EA1995.238
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Further reading
Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 24 September-1 December 1996, Modern Chinese Paintings: The Reyes Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Vainker, Shelagh (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1996), no. 74 on p. 59, p. 9, illus. p. 58 fig. 74
Vainker, Shelagh, ‘Modern Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum’, Oriental Art, 42/3, (Autumn 1996), p. 9, illus. p. 8 fig. 14
Past Exhibition
see (1)
Location
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- currently in research collection
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
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Modern Chinese Paintings: The Reyes Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Su Dongpo, also known as Su Shi, was one of the greatest calligraphers and poets of the Northern Song (960-1127) dynasty. Ren Zhenhan here depicts him in the image of his own poem - carrying a stick, dressed in hermit's clothes - and in the specific brushwork style termed by Su Shi when describing the calligraphy of his contemporary Huang Tingjian (1045-1105) as "snake hanging from a tree". The painting is dated 1989, the year of the snake. Ren favoured literary subjects for his figure paintings; this scroll may be compared with Shanghai School of figures of the 19th century.
Notice
Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.
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