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Reading under a Tree in Autumn

Cheng Sui Chinese

Not on view

Born in Songjiang (near modern Shanghai), Cheng Sui spent most of his life in Yangzhou and Nanjing, but he is associated with the Anhui School through his painting style as well as through ancestral ties and friendships with the school’s major members.

Cheng said he only painted in his spare time from seal carving. Departing from the characteristic Anhui School idiom of linear forms rendered with dry brushstrokes and minimal texturing, he animated his compositions with quivering lines and animated ink dots that cause the surfaces of his pictures to vibrate.

According to his finely brushed inscription, Cheng painted this landscape for a Mr. Bai’an in Nanjing after recovering from an eye ailment.

Reading under a Tree in Autumn, Cheng Sui (Chinese, 1605 –1691), Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China

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