清/現代　齊白石　五牛圖　軸|Five Water Buffalo

Qi Baishi

ca. 1937 · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

This work shows water buffalo in different postures and from various angles to playfully convey a sense of the beloved animal's personality. The artist's inscription reveals that his family found it impossible to part with the delightful image: I painted this for a family friend. My family persuaded me to repeat the composition and keep it for ourselves, since it is rather amusing. (Wen Fong, trans., Between Two Cultures: Late-Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century Chinese Paintings from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art [New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001], p. 167)

Artist

Qi Baishi

Date

ca. 1937

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986