COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1960.181
AMICA Library Year:
2000
Object Type:
Paintings
Creator Name:
Ren, Renfa
Creator Nationality:
Chinese
Creator Role:
artist
Creator Dates/Places:
1254 - 1327
Gender:
M
Creator Name-CRT:
Ren Renfa
Title:
Three Horses and Four Grooms
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Detail
Creation Date:
late 13th Century
Creation Start Date:
1279
Creation End Date:
1300
Materials and Techniques:
handscroll, ink and color on silk
Dimensions:
Image: 29.2cm x 136.8cm, Roll: 0cm x 5.08cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1960.181
Credit Line:
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
Inscriptions:
Artist's signature and seal: Yüeh-shan-tao-jen. [seal] Jen Tzu-ming shih.1 colophon and 16 additional seals: 1 poem, 1 colophon dated 1552 or 1612, and 3 seals of Wang I-ying (16th c.); 2 seals of Liang Ch'ing-piao (1620-1691); 6 seals of the Ch'ien-lung emperor (r. 1736-95); 3 seals of the Chia-ch'ing emperor (r. 1796-1821); 1 seal of the Hsüan-tung emperor (r. 1908-12); 1 seal of Yü Hsieh-chung (20th c.).Poem and colophon by Wang I-ying:As for painters of horses in the previous dynasty,Surely the name of Yüeh-shan [Jen Jen-fa] must come first.Under his brush and on his silkThey seem to have just galloped out from the imperial stud.Now as the world overflows with inferiority,Who, from the stable, can recognize a dragon-horse amidst mediocrity.Jen Yüeh-shan [Jen Jen-fa] of the Yüan Dynasty was best in horse paintings. The three fine steeds he painted in this scroll are so dashing, so vigorous in spirit that they have indeed grasped some of the "brush-idea" of Han Kan. Not long ago this painting came into the possession of Mr. Kuei Shan-ch'üan, who asked for my inscription. And I, while reading the old manuscripts of Heng-shan [Wen Cheng-ming, 1470-1559], by accident, came cross the poem quoted above. As the ancients said "in painting horses, Master Han was [inspired by and produced] real horses; in composing poems, Master Su [Su Tung p'o, the leading Sung poet] wrote as if a painting were before him." These are truly what should be considered the two excellences; indeed, they are to be treasured. In the sixth month of the jen-tzu year [either 1552 or 1612]. Chien-feng-shan-jen [The Mountain Dweller of the Sword Peak], Wang I-ying, written in the Ch'ü-ssu-t'ing Pavilion at Ch'ih-yang. WKH
Provenance:
Emp. Ch'ien Lung, Ch'ing Dynasty; Liang Ch'ing-piao
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1960.181det01.tif
