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Scholar and Pines

Pu Ru

Asian Art

The painter of this hanging scroll, best known for his landscapes, was a descendant of Qing dynasty (1644–1911) royalty. He received a privately tutored classical education that included training in painting and calligraphy, and he excelled at both. He began studying painting formally at the age of thirty, and as was the custom at the time, he learned by copying masterpieces in the royal collection.

MEDIUM Ink and color on paper
  • Place Made: China
  • DATES ca. 1950
    PERIOD Republic Period
    DIMENSIONS 31 x 23 1/4 in. (78.7 x 59.1 cm) Image: 22 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. (57.2 x 29.8 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS There are three artist's seals. The first seal reads: "Sheng-hsin Studio". The second reads: "Hsin-yu"; the third seal is "Pu Ju".
    INSCRIPTIONS Inscription at upper right is a four line poem, five character meter. It reads: "Often I sit under the pines, reminiscing of the mountains in my home town. In the remote lake of Peng-tze, there should be white clouds rising."
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 83.118
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Judge Leonard Cohen
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Hanging scroll painting (now framed). A scholar wearing a white robe and Confucian head cloth seated on the ground between two gnarled pine trees amid rocks by the edge of a stream. Hillside in middle distance at right. Light green brocade border, wood frame with plexiglass. Condition: Several restored horizontal cracks; minor stains.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Pu Ru (Chinese, 1896-1963). Scholar and Pines, ca. 1950. Ink and color on paper, 31 x 23 1/4 in. (78.7 x 59.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Judge Leonard Cohen, 83.118. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 83.118.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 83.118.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2005
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