Leng Mei, Portrait of a Lady, a hanging scroll painting
China
Qing dynasty, 18th century AD
'Painting of a beauty'
Leng Mei (active about 1677- about 1742) specialized in figure painting and belonged to the atelier of the Kangxi emperor (reigned 1662-1722). He arrived at the imperial court in about 1700, and took part in several of the painting programmes instigated by the emperor. These included illustrations commemorating significant events, such as the building of the summer palace at Jehol, and the emperor's sixtieth birthday.
This painting is known as a meiren hua ('painting of a beauty'), in a tradition dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-906) in the paintings of Zhou Fang (about 730-800). The lady sits on a rustic seat holding a book in her hand. The informality of her pose, her refined appearance and her diaphanous clothing suggest that Leng Mei may have been depicting a courtesan. The artist's skill can be seen in the delicate rendering of the textile design and the fluid lines of the drapery.
Height: 90 cm
Width: 31 cm
Object reg. no: AC 1910,0212,0.466
无责YY：这副画像的作者，为冷枚，长期供奉宫廷。联系谦嫔画像被外国人说成很不正经，看似为风月欢场女子，在卖弄风骚勾引男人（[url]read.php?tid=3653[/url]），而这副画像对于画中女子的措辞和说谦嫔的竟然惊人的相似，所以某只桐桐的小脑袋瓜就又开始动歪念头了。康熙不是和高士其谈论西洋画法的时候拿出二贵嫔像给他看么，说“有二贵嫔像，写得逼真，尔年老，久在供奉，看亦无妨”，于是拿出一副画像，说“此满人也”，又拿出一张，说“此汉人也”。而冷枚虽说不是西洋画师，但他和焦秉贞一样，有学习西洋画法呢。而且那句“看亦无妨”，让我想入非非，嘿嘿～倘若真的是康熙某嫔的画像，那么就足以证明，雍正不过是有样学样罢了
以上纯属信口开河，大家笑而置之吧。
