Lady Xuanwen Giving Instruction on the Rites of Zhou
Chen Hongshou (Chinese, 1598/99–1652)
1638
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Image: 172.8 x 55.7 cm (68 1/16 x 21 15/16 in.); Overall: 293.9 x 71 cm (115 11/16 x 27 15/16 in.); with knobs: 293.9 x 79 cm (115 11/16 x 31 1/8 in.)
- Culture
- China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese Art
- Credit line
- Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
This painting by Chen Hongshou depicts the story of Xuanwen Jun, or Lady of Literary Propagation, at a venerable age, instructing young scholars on the Confucian classics. It was painted for Chen’s aunt in celebration of her 60th birthday.
Chen’s painting style is archaic in the use of fine outlines and brilliant coloring with mineral pigments. In depicting the figures, he uses the “iron-wire” brush style (fine, even lines) with deliberate control. The faces are elongated and exaggerated. A few ritual bronzes lend the scene an antique flavor.
