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Five Water Buffalo

Qi Baishi Chinese
ca. 1937
Not on view
This work shows water buffalo in different postures and from various angles to playfully convey a sense of the beloved animal's personality. The artist's inscription reveals that his family found it impossible to part with the delightful image:

I painted this for a family friend. My family persuaded me to repeat the composition and keep it for ourselves, since it is rather amusing.

(Wen Fong, trans., Between Two Cultures: Late-Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century Chinese Paintings from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art [New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001], p. 167)

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 清/現代　齊白石　五牛圖　軸
  • Title: Five Water Buffalo
  • Artist: Qi Baishi (Chinese, 1864–1957)
  • Date: ca. 1937
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 53 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. (135.3 x 33.7 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 84 3/4 x 18 3/4 in. (215.3 x 47.6 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 84 3/4 x 22 1/2 in. (215.3 x 57.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986
  • Object Number: 1986.267.219
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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