Ink bamboo
The tip of a young bamboo plant leans into view from the left edge of this painting, as if blown there by the wind. Li Shan arranged his lengthy inscription around the leaves, creating a dynamic interplay between word and image. The inscription contains a long poem about the history of bamboo painting from the eleventh century to the artist’s own time. After describing all the great masters who preceded him, he boldly declares that “my own bamboo belongs to yet another school.”
Artwork Details
- 清 李鱓 墨竹圖 軸
- Title: Ink bamboo
- Artist: Li Shan (Chinese, 1686–ca. 1756)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: dated 1749
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 52 x 29 1/8 in. (132.1 x 74 cm)
Overall with mounting: 99 1/2 x 32 1/8 in. (252.7 x 81.6 cm)
Overall with knobs: 99 1/2 x 35 1/2 in. (252.7 x 90.2 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
- Object Number: 1989.363.161
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Li Shan
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