1703
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleansing Medicinal Herbs in the Stream on a Spring Day is a 1703 unspecified by Yu Zhiding, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a long scroll with a man sitting in a bamboo grove while servants wash herbs in a stream. This painting is actually a portrait of Shi Shenyi, a sickly official who loved medicine. The herbs and fresh water aren’t just scenery—they show his interest in healing. Yu Zhiding painted this in 1703, blending portrait and landscape in a way that tells a quiet story about health and nature. To see more works like this, look up china, qing dynasty (1644-1911).
A famous portraitist, Yu Zhiding here depicts the likeness of Shi Shenyi 史申義 (1661–1712), an official and poet. Master Shi, a sickly man, was deeply interested in medicinal science. The opening section of the scroll features a boy washing a fungus in fresh spring water, a basket of medicinal herbs by his side. Other servants carry a fan, a bundle of scrolls, and a cup of tea or hot wine. Master Shi sits in a bamboo grove, surrounded by fields of herbs. Returning swallows, pink peach blossoms, and blooming magnolia indicate spring, whereas the fungus conveys wishes for long life. The spring…
In the pavilion are some of Shi Shenyi’s scholarly accoutrements: a stack of books, an antique zun 尊 (wine vessel), a brush holder, an ink stone, and a small chime.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Yu Zhiding (Yü Chih-ting, traditional: 禹之鼎, simplified: 禹之鼎); ca. (1647–1709) was a Chinese painter during the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Yu was a native of Jiangdu (present-day Yangzhou) in Jiangsu province. His style…
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