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Song of the Lute

Fu Baoshi Chinese

dated 1944

Not on view

Based on a poem by Bai Juyi (772–846), this painting captures the moment when the exiled poet and his friend meet a pipa (Chinese lute) player whose music evokes the sorrow of banishment. Painted during the war, when Fu was also forced to live far from the capital, the painting reflects his interest in representing emotions. But Fu was also indebted to a work depicting the same subject by the Japanese artist Hashimoto Kansetsu (1883–1945).

Song of the Lute, Fu Baoshi (Chinese, 1904–1965), Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, China — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Song of the Lute

Artist: Fu Baoshi (Chinese, 1904–1965)

Date: dated 1944

Culture: China

Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Dimensions: Image: 46 7/16 x 13 3/4 in. (118 x 35 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Lent by Nanjing Museum

Accession Number: SL.8.2012.2.28

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Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.