Absorb the Past; Abandon the Present
1856
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
1856
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Absorb the Past; Abandon the Present is a 1856 unspecified by Qian Huian, a Chinese Orthodox School work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a woman in pale pink robes, holding a fan and standing under a willow tree. Her face is soft, almost ghostly, and the background fades into mist. Qian Hui’an painted this during the Taiping Rebellion, a brutal civil war in China. The title, *Absorb the Past; Abandon the Present*, hints at longing for an older, calmer time. The colors are light, like a memory. To see more of this quiet, dreamy style, look up Qian Hui'an (Chinese, 1833–1911).
Qian Huian, active in Shanghai, was best known for his paintings of beautiful women, and historic and mythological figures, rendered in a distinct style. His figures appear eccentric and the color palette pale to pink. The album’s title, Absorb the Past, Abandon the Present , reflect the desire to find refuge in China’s Past, as the country was going through the devastating Taiping rebellion at the time the paintings were created.
Leaf four depicts Tao Yuanming, carried by servants in a basket as he had an ailing foot. Tao wrote the Peach Blossom Spring tale, in which a fisherman loses his way and ends up in a utopia.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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