Grapes

Chen Hongshou was an accomplished painter, calligrapher and seal carver who served as magistrate of Yixing in the early nineteenth century. His interest in the famous stoneware ceramics of that city led him to commission teapots after his own designs, following in the tradition of collaboration between intellectuals and Yixing potters that occurred during the Ming dynasty. The subject of grapevines is particularly suited to demonstrating the strength and deftness of Chen’s brushwork. In the literati tradition, he practiced his art as a leisure-time activity.