Study on Album Inspired by Su Dongpo's Poetry Painted by Shitao(1642-1707)

With his unique style, Shitao (1642-1707) has become one of the most famous pioneers of Expressionism and Individualism in the history of Chinese painting since the twentieth century. His late works in Yangzhou period (1692-1707) and a series of paintings depicting Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) have received much academic attention. Nevertheless, not much is known about his earlier paintings even today. Featuring various painstaking dry brushes, Album Inspired by Su Dongpo’s Poetry (dated 1677) survives as Shitao’s earlier works painted during his Xuancheng period (1666-1680). Although scholars have agreed that this album is of excellent quality, it has yet to be thoroughly discussed. The present study will firstly reconstruct the provenance of Album Inspired by Su Dongpo’s Poetry. Moreover, through meticulous examination of the surviving ten leaves, the author will try to grasp the painter’s intention in each leaf of this album. In addition to formal analysis, the selection of poetry is also worthy of note. In fact, Shitao’s choice and editions of Su Shi’s (1037-1101, also known as Su Dongpo) poems is different from that of his contemporaries, suggesting the painter’s own judgment. This phenomenon echoes the re-evaluation of Su’s poems in the latter half of 17th century. In this vein, Album Inspired by Su Dongpo’s Poetry may thus reflect Shitao’s study of Su Dongpo’s poems.