清 趙之謙 隸書引首 卷|The Lingshouhua Studio
Zhao Zhiqian
1863 · Horizontal panel; ink on paper · Asian Art
Zhao Zhiqian, the leading scholar-artist of his day, grew up in a merchant family but received a classical education in order to pursue a career in government. Passing the provincial civil-service examination in 1859, Zhao spent the next twelve years in Beijing selling his art while trying unsuccessfully to pass the capital examination before being awarded a post as district magistrate in Jiangxi Province in 1872. Zhao was equally renowned as a calligrapher, seal carver, and painter. He is best known for a distinctive "square-brush" style of calligraphy derived from the engraved stone writings of the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534), as seen in his dedication and signature here, but he also developed a distinctively plump seal-script manner exemplified by this couplet, which expresses a sentiment appropriate for a Confucian household: Great virtue comes from forbearance, sincerity comes from a mind free from deception. (Jason Sun, translated)
- Artist
- Zhao Zhiqian
- Date
- 1863
- Medium
- Horizontal panel; ink on paper
- Culture
- China
- Department
- Asian Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Shou-cheng Zhang and Xiu-ping Loh Zhang, 2000
