Squirrel and Grapes
In Suzhou the Sha family owned a famous shop selling woodblock prints, which was destroyed by the Taiping occupation in 1860. Sha Fu found asylum in Shanghai and continued the family tradition of painting figures, particularly beautiful women, popularizing the genre in Shanghai.
Artists like Sha Fu who made their living by selling paintings of popular subjects in the inexpensive fan format were no longer déclassé in Shanghai in the late 19th century. Fans were gifts often exchanged among friends, and a bourgeois clientele enjoyed the company of a favorite artist, regarding him as something of a celebrity.
Artists like Sha Fu who made their living by selling paintings of popular subjects in the inexpensive fan format were no longer déclassé in Shanghai in the late 19th century. Fans were gifts often exchanged among friends, and a bourgeois clientele enjoyed the company of a favorite artist, regarding him as something of a celebrity.
Artwork Details
- 清 沙馥 松鼠葡萄 扇面
- Title: Squirrel and Grapes
- Artist: Sha Fu (Chinese, 1831–1906)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: dated 1894
- Culture: China
- Medium: Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on alum paper
- Dimensions: 6 5/8 x 19 3/4 in. (16.8 x 50.2 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986
- Object Number: 1986.267.77
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Sha Fu
1879
Sha Fu
Sha Fu
late 19th or early 20th century
Tibet
19th century
China
19th century
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