A Tartar Horseman Coursing a Hare

Object Details

• Label

  This small album leaf depicts, judging by its subject's costume, a non-Chinese hunter and his dog who have successfully brought down a hare. While the stylistic origin of the "trembling" brush line zhanbi, employed to depict the contours of the hunter's costume, can be traced to the Five Dynasties period (907-960), this small work is a much later reinterpretation of the style. Created by rhythmically altering pressure on the brush tip to produce lines of varying thickness, zhanbi is often used to convey a sense of motion or agitation. The album leaf bears a spurious seal of the famous Ming dynasty painter Qiu Ying (ca. 1494-1552), whose works are unrelated to this painting in either composition or style.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Li Wenqing (circa 1869-1931), Shanghai to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in China, in 1911 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Panel List, L. 77, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Year of the Horse: Chinese Horse Paintings (February 24 to September 2, 2002)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1600s, 1690s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Li, Wenqing

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Animals, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Horses, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings