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Song of the Lute

Fu Baoshi Chinese
dated 1944
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Based on a poem by Bai Juyi (772–846), this painting captures the moment when the exiled poet and his friend meet a pipa (Chinese lute) player whose music evokes the sorrow of banishment. Painted during the war, when Fu was also forced to live far from the capital, the painting reflects his interest in representing emotions. But Fu was also indebted to a work depicting the same subject by the Japanese artist Hashimoto Kansetsu (1883–1945).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Song of the Lute
  • Artist: Fu Baoshi (Chinese, 1904–1965)
  • Date: dated 1944
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 46 7/16 x 13 3/4 in. (118 x 35 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Lent by Nanjing Museum
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art