Artwork
明 宋旭 羅漢圖 冊|Ten Paintings of Luohans
明 宋旭 羅漢圖 冊|Ten Paintings of Luohans is an ink painting by the Baroque artist Song Xu. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The portrayal aligns with traditional representations of Luohan figures within Chinese Buddhist art, as suggested by the title and classification.
The painting titled Ten Paintings of Luohans, made by Song Xu in 1777, consists of ten leaves of ink and color on silk. Its genre is recorded as religious, reflecting a Buddhist theme. The image depicts a man alongside a monkey, a combination noted in the catalog entry.
The portrayal aligns with traditional representations of Luohan figures within Chinese Buddhist art, as suggested by the title and classification. The work thus communicates a spiritual narrative through its iconography of a revered monk‑like figure and a symbolic animal.
Technique & Style
The work is presented as an album of ten leaves, each painted in ink with added color on silk, a support typical of Qing‑period album paintings. Measuring about 28.6 cm in height and 29.2 cm in width, the leaves were produced in China in 1777. The composition belongs to the religious genre and depicts a man alongside a monkey, figures identified in the Wikidata entry.
Executed in ink and polychrome pigments on a silk support, the pieces exhibit fine brushwork and muted tonal modulation characteristic of Buddhist luohan imagery, though specific condition details are not recorded.
History & Provenance
The work known as 明 宋旭 羅漢圖 (Ten Paintings of Luohans) was produced in 1777 by the Chinese painter Song Xu as an album of ten leaves executed in ink and color on silk. Its creation took place in China, employing the religious genre of Luohan imagery depicting a man and a monkey. The album remains in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which records its inception as 1777 and documents its dimensions of 28.6 × 29.2 cm. The work is classified as a painting within the museum’s holdings.
The album Ten Paintings of Luohans, attributed to the Ming dynasty artist Song Xu, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work, dated to 1777, consists of ten leaves executed in ink and color on silk. While the museum's records list the piece within its collection, the specific inventory or accession number is not provided in the available documentation.
The album is classified as a religious painting depicting figures and a monkey. No exhibition history or specific display locations within the museum are detailed in the current sources, which primarily confirm the work's presence in the institution's holdings and its physical dimensions.
Overview
Song Xu's album, Ten Paintings of Luohans, is a religious work from the Ming Dynasty, executed in ink and color on silk. Comprising ten individual leaves, the artwork presents various Buddhist monks, known as luohans, within natural settings. Each small painting features a robed, shaved-head figure, often accompanied by monkeys, clouds, and rock formations, conveying a sense of spiritual contemplation.
Artist & collection
![Paintings after Ancient Masters: A Lohan [after Guanxiu], by Chen Hongshou](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/chen-hongshou--paintings-after-ancient-masters-a-lohan-after-guanxiu--92196fae80c7e0a7-w320.webp)
