1788
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Su Wu the Shepherd is a 1788 unspecified by Min Zhen, a Chinese Orthodox School work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A man in a tattered robe stands alone on a rocky hill, holding a long staff. Sheep graze around him under a pale sky. The scene feels quiet, almost forgotten. This painting tells the story of Su Wu, a Chinese official sent into exile for nineteen years. Instead of giving up, he herded sheep until he could return home. The artist, Min Zhen, lived through hardship too—orphaned young, he painted this late in life, when his own struggles had shaped his style. To see more work from this time, look up china, qing dynasty (1644-1911).
Min Zhen, who was orphaned at age 12 and developed an eccentric personality, was trained by Tang Yin (1682–1756), a writer, playwright, and superintendent of the imperial porcelain workshops in Jingdezhen. The connection to him may have enabled Min to stay in Beijing for a decade from around 1773. It is not clear whether he ever resided in Yangzhou, but his style is in many instances reminiscent of that of Yangzhou artist Huang Shen. This album demonstrates Min’s versatility and mature style in the last years of his life.
Su Wu 蘇武 (140-60 BC) endured hardships and became a humble shepherd in an alien land while remaining a loyal servitor of the Han dynasty.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Min Zhen was a Chinese painter and seal carver born in Nanchang, Jiangxi, who spent most of his life in Hubei.
See the richer artist page
