Ch’ien Tu (1761-1844) 錢杜

‘Blossoming Plum, after Ch’en Hung-shou’

Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
110 x 28.5 cm. (43 1/4 x 11 1/4 in.)

Inscription:
‘When Lao-ch’ih (Ch’en Hung-shou) painted blossoming plum he used the methods of seal-carving. Elegant and refined, they were the best of that generation, as though from the hand of a Wei and Jin dynasty person. Being in front of (one of them) was like being deep in the mountains, at the end of a valley, and meeting an immortal in feathered cloak and begging him to transform one’s bones to cinnabar. Recorded by Shu-mei.’

Artist’s seals:
Ch’ien; Tu

Published:
Kohansha Shina meiga senshu, Bunkado, Kyoto. 1926-29, vol. 3, pl. 50.