Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling

Unidentified artist

Not on view

This is an example of a type of portrait that became popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in which the sitter plays the role of a famous historical or legendary figure. Here, the subject, identified only by his sobriquet, Shaoyu, appears in the guise of the drunken scholar Liu Ling (221–300), who turned to wine to escape the tumultuous political environment of his day. Liu is remembered as one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, contemporaries who renounced worldly affairs for the simple pleasures of drink, music, and poetry. Following standard depictions of Liu, Shaoyu rides in a deer-drawn carriage and is accompanied by attendants, one of whom carries a spade to bury the master on the spot should he die from dissipation.

Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China

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Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Portrait of Shaoyu in the guise of Liu Ling, Unidentified artist , active late 18th–early 19th century, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China

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