Object Details
Artist
Ren Xun
Date
19th century
Medium
Fan: ink and colors on paper
Dimensions
6 7/8 x 20 1/4 inches (17.5 x 51.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired through the Membership Purchase Fund
Object
Number
81.081.001
Four painters from the Ren family were active in Shanghai in the nineteenth century. Ren Xun was the(…)
Four painters from the Ren family were active in Shanghai in the nineteenth century. Ren Xun was the younger brother of Ren Xiong, and the uncle of Ren Bonian. He specialized in flower and figure paintings. Brushed without outlines, in the “boneless” style, Ren depicted a swallow sitting on a branch of blossoming hibiscus. Swallows symbolize happiness, success, and children; hibiscus is associated with riches, fame, and splendor. At the time of the summer solstice, a period associated with drought and intense heat, fever, and disease, hibiscus is displayed to ward off evil.
