Court painter at a low table portraying a lady in red, watched by palace ladies in a golden pavilion

Spring Dawn in the Han Palace (detail: the portrait)

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What you see

Dark green columns divide an open pavilion into three bays. In the middle, Wang Zhaojun, dressed in red and white, sits for her portrait while an attendant holds a large round fan behind her. To her right, the painter Mao Yanshou, in a black cap, works on a board propped on his table. Ladies crowd both sides to watch, and below, two guards talk in front of the terrace.

The gold ground and the reds of the ribbons and robes give the scene a warm, festive glow. The lines are fine and exact, down to the folds and hairstyles. Keep an eye out for the face already painted on the board and the little dishes of color on the green table.

About Qiu Ying

Qiu Ying was born around 1494 into a peasant family in Taicang and began in Suzhou as an artisan decorating lacquerware before becoming a professional painter. His meticulous, elegant brushwork and his gift for copying Song and Yuan paintings won him the favour of wealthy collectors such as Xiang Yuanbian. He is counted today among the Four Masters of the Ming dynasty, and his daughter Qiu Zhu also became a painter.

All 12 works by Qiu Ying

More by Qiu Ying

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