Woman at her dressing table
This artwork is attributed to Leng Mei, who trained at the court of the Kangxi emperor. There, European painting techniques were fashionable and sometimes incorporated into Chinese paintings. This training is evident in the teapot on the shelf, which is shaded to look three-dimensional, and the legs of the table, which have different tones to indicate a single light source—both methods adapted from Europe. Among the books that fill the shelf in the background, a single title is visible: Retrospective of Poems by Famous Women (Mingyuan shigui 名媛詩歸), an anthology of poems written by women authors throughout Chinese history. On the table, an inkstone and water pot indicate that the seated subject is herself a writer.
Artwork Details
- 清 冷枚 簪花仕女圖 軸
- Title: Woman at her dressing table
- Artist: Attributed to Leng Mei (Chinese, active 1677–1742)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 1793
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions: Image: 66 13/16 × 37 3/16 in. (169.7 × 94.5 cm)
Overall with mounting: 91 1/4 × 43 7/16 in. (231.8 × 110.3 cm)
Overall with knobs: 91 1/4 × 47 1/4 in. (231.8 × 120 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.180
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Unidentified artist , Chinese, 18th century
18th century
ca. 1700
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