Portrait of a Woman in White: Lu Meiniang 廬媚娘像

Object Details

• Artist

  Formerly attributed to He Chong (傳)何充 (active ca. 1078-1085)

• Label

  Lu Meiniang (Eyebrow Maiden Lu) was a concubine of the Tang emperor who later became a Daoist immortal. Allegedly she was born with long, threadlike eyebrows--hence her name. With a sheer white robe and the gauze cap of a Confucian scholar, Lu is dressed in the attire common among Tang court ladies. The slender proportions of the figure and sharp angular brushstrokes of the drapery folds reflect the influence of late Northern Song figure paintings.

  To learn more about this and similar objects, visit http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/default.asp Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy.

• Provenance

  To 1917

  Li Wenqing (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]

  From 1917 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, in 1917 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 1160, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 18, December 1916.

  [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

  Setting the Bar: Arts of the Song dynasty (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Daoism in the Arts in China (December 16, 2006 to July 1, 2007)

  In Human Form: Images of the Secular and Divine in Chinese Painting (January 31, 1996 to January 7, 1997)

  Chinese Figure Painting (September 17, 1973 to January 3, 1975)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics (March 7, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 19 (February 25, 1956 to February 4, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork and Painting, East Corridor (February 15, 1955 to August 26, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting, Gallery 14, 1955 (November 17, 1955 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting, Gallery 1, 1955 (April 11, 1955 to December 12, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, East Asian Ceramics and Paintings, East Corridor (January 8, 1947 to ---)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork, Pottery, and Painting (March 23, 1944 to May 2, 1946)

• 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

  1400s, 1300s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Li, Wenqing

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Daoist Immortals, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chinese Art, Portraits, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368), Woman

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings