3.4 Ren Xiong
Album After the Poems of Yao Xie
1850-1851
twenty-four leaves of an album of 120 leaves, ink and color on silk
each leaf 27.5 x 32.5 cm
Palace Museum, Beijing
Perhaps the most important commission of his career, Ren Xiong designed
and rendered the 120 illustrations in this album over a two month period
in the winter of 1850 and 1851. The images are based upon phrases or couplets
from the poetry of his friend and patron Yao Xie (1805-1864), at whose home
in Ningbo he lived while completing the work. Now mounted as ten albums,
the exhibited leaves are drawn from the second and fourth books, devoted
to birds and mythological figures, respectively. The extraordinary variety
of subject matter and approach suggests a familiarity with ancient Chinese
painting and modern folk art, as well as with Japanese and Western art.