Accession Number1970/2.8
TitleBamboo and Rocks
Artist(s)Qian Zai Object Creation Date1787Medium & Supportink on paperDimensions 62 11/16 in. x 19 1/2 in. ( 159.3 cm x 49.5 cm )
Credit LineMuseum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection FundLabel copyInscription: “Painted for presentation to Mr. Xiaozhu, the prudent prefect of my hometown, for his elegant enjoyment, in the 6th month of the dingwei year [1787], [by] junior Qian Zai at age eighty …”
Two collectors’ seals
Qian Zai was a poet, government official, and a painter who worked completely in the literati tradition. Qian favored an expressionistic style and painted well into his old age. One well-known line in a poem Qian reads: “My bosom is so void that it contains not even one single object. My impassioned brush, however, is saturated with the universe.” This work depicts several bamboo stalks by a small creek. Qian's swift and spontaneous calligraphic strokes animate the composition, which possesses a wonderful warmth and informal quality.
Winter 2015 Gallery Rotation
Qian Zai was a poet, official, and painter who worked in the literati (amateur scholar-artist) tradition. According to the colophon, Qian created this animated painting of bamboo by a creek at the age of eighty, as a gift for a friend. Like the orchid, bamboo is often used in Chinese art as a symbol of a scholar with integrity. Here the composition is animated by Qian’s swift brushwork and tension is generated by the cropping of the bamboo leaves at the painting’s edge. A line from Qian’s poem inscribed on the painting reads: “my bosom is so void that it contains not even one single object. My impassioned brush, however, is saturated with the universe.”
Subject matterA bamboo tree growing from a hill on the right side of the painting occupies the upper portion of the painting. The lower branches also extend out over a smal river that takes up the base of the painting. Ground (rocks) is depicted on either side of the river.
Physical DescriptionA vertical hanging scroll on white fabric. The image is in black ink on faded paper. A bamboo tree occupies most of the space. A signature is located in the middle on the left of the painting.
Primary Object Classification Painting Primary Object Typehanging scrollAdditional Object Classification(s)PaintingCollection AreaAsianRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Keywords
bamboo
hanging scrolls
ink
streams