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Your galleryMynah and Lotus 鷯哥荷花圖
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Compare the solid, wet black of the two mynahs, one with its orange beak open, with the pale washes of the lotus leaves and the rock below.
Two black mynahs perch on a drooping branch above lotus flowers and rocks. The mynah, known for mimicking human speech, was one of the 17th-century painter Zhu Da’s favorite subjects, and the Art Institute explains that, according to the inscription, Ren Yi painted the scroll for a friend who ran an antique shop, imitating Zhu Da in homage. It shows the looser, wetter brushwork of his mature years.
Hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper · 125.7 × 50.5 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · Chinese painting: Qing
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Details and source
- Museum title
- Mynah and Lotus 鷯哥荷花圖
- Artist
- Ren Yi (Chinese, 1840–1895)
- Date
- Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 1885
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper
- Dimensions
- 125.7 × 50.5 cm (49 1/4 × 19 7/8 in.)
- Credit line
- Gift of Florence Ayscough and Harley Farnsworth MacNair
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Art Institute of Chicago
Artist’s life 1840–1895
View in the AtlasGaller’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.