Orchids, Bamboo, and Rocks
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Shitao arrived in Beijing in 1690 to seek imperial patronage. He soon took Boerdu (1649–1708), great-grandson of the Qing founder Nuerhachi (1559–1626), as his disciple in painting. It was through Boerdu that Shitao contributed to this joint work with the preeminent painter Wang Hui, who left his inscription on the rock. Shitao’s tame representation of bamboo and orchids shows his respect for orthodox courtly taste. In his inscription, written in archaic clerical script, he composed a poem on bamboo and orchids, then added this postscript:
Mr. Wen [Boerdu] sent me some paper and asked me to paint
orchids and bamboo, adding that a master painter would complete
the painting with rock images. Therefore I left a blank area for
his magical final touch. Submitted for Mr. Wen’s instruction.
cat. no. 77
Mr. Wen [Boerdu] sent me some paper and asked me to paint
orchids and bamboo, adding that a master painter would complete
the painting with rock images. Therefore I left a blank area for
his magical final touch. Submitted for Mr. Wen’s instruction.
cat. no. 77
Artwork Details
- 清 石濤, 王翬 蘭竹石圖 軸
- Title: Orchids, Bamboo, and Rocks
- Artist: Shitao (Zhu Ruoji) (Chinese, 1642–1707)
- Artist: Wang Hui (Chinese, 1632–1717)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: dated 1691
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 51 3/16 x 22 1/16 in. (130 x 56 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by The Chih Lo Lou Collection, Hong Kong
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art