Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


    • Scholar on a Rock
    Ren Yi (Ren Bonian) (Chinese, 1840–1896)
    Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on paper

    7 1/2 x 21 3/16 in. (19.1 x 53.8 cm)
    Inscribed by the artist
    Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986 (1986.267.49)

    This fine example of Ren's figure style, with its patternized drapery lines and exaggerated forms, is based on that of Chen Hongshou (1598–1652), who was also an important model for Ren Yi's close mentors Ren Xun (1835–1893) and Ren Xiong (1820–1857). The scholar hunched over his book and the convoluted rock seem kindred spirits, complex and enduring.

    Related


    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Hearn, Maxwell K. "Modern Chinese Painting, 1860–1980: Selections from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 58, no. 3 (Winter, 2000–01).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Art in Late-Nineteenth-Century Shanghai" PDF
    • "Director's Note" PDF
    • "Innovation within Tradition: Shanghai Scholar-Painters of the Early Twentieth Century" PDF
    • "New Asian Art; A Synthesis of East an West" PDF
    • "A New Traditionalist" PDF
    • "Notes" PDF
    • "Painting Academies and Western Influence" PDF
    • "Painting After Liberation" PDF
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  • Scholar on a Rock
    Ren Yi (Ren Bonian) (Chinese, 1840–1896)
    Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on paper

    7 1/2 x 21 3/16 in. (19.1 x 53.8 cm)
    Inscribed by the artist
    Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986 (1986.267.49)