Dongfang Shou as a Youth

early 20th century

Not on view

Shao Shaoyi was a student and friend of Qi Baishi. In the thirties and forties while working in Peking as a newspaper journalist, he was inspired by Qi's experiments using large brushes. Shao Shaoyi's painting of the official Dongfang Manqian who served the Han Emperor Wu Di and later assumed the rank of an Immortal, is a close copy of Qi's painting of the same subject. Shao, following Qi's lead, depicts the Immortal as a cherubic lad, still coiffed as a child, holding the colorful peach that is the emblem of this immortality like a favorite plaything. Qi in his inscription to Shao's painting gives himself credit for his novel decision to depict the Immortal as a youth.

Artwork Details

近代邵少逸少年東方朔軸
Title: Dongfang Shou as a Youth
Artist: Shao Shaoyi (Chinese, died 1954)
Date: early 20th century
Culture: China
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 39 1/4 x 12 1/2 in. (99.7 x 31.8 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986
Object Number: 1986.267.260
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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