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Portrait of Bi Shichang, from the set Five Old Men of Suiyang

before 1056
Not on view
This portrait is one of a set that commemorates a gathering of five retired gentlemen at Suiyang, Henan Province. The sensitive delineation of features in contrast to the thick shaded brush lines of the garment reflects Tang dynasty conventions of official portraiture and a conservatism appropriate to the subject. Equally formal is the inscription written in regular script-a style also used for steles and official documents.

Two portraits from this set of five are at the Freer Gallery, Washington, D.C., and two are in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 北宋 佚名 睢陽五老，畢世長像 冊頁
  • Title: Portrait of Bi Shichang, from the set Five Old Men of Suiyang
  • Artist: Unidentified artist Chinese, active 11th century
  • Period: Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
  • Date: before 1056
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Album leaf; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 15 3/4 x 12 5/8 in. (40 x 32.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.170.1
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Frontispiece and Colophons to the Album "Five Old Men of Suiyang", Various Scholars (11th–20th centuries), Album of fifteen leaves; ink on paper, China
Frontispiece and Colophons to the Album "Five Old Men of Suiyang"
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