Minneapolis Institute of Art

Daoist Figures

Attributed to Liu Jun

Date

late 15th–early 16th century

Medium

Ink and color on silk

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Three figures stand in a mountainous landscape and bid farewell to each other. Their attributes identify them as three of the Eight Immortals from the Daoist tradition. The Eight Immortals are legendary beings, each representing a different condition of life: poverty, wealth, aristocracy, low social rank, age, youth, masculinity, and femininity. Zhong Liquan is on the right and holds a large fan that can resurrect the dead and transform stones into silver or gold. Zhang Guolao, who characterizes old age, is in the center, with a tube-shaped bamboo drum strapped to his back. Cao Guojiu is on the left, dressed in official robes and holding a wine jar; he is regarded as the patron deity of acting and theater. The painting is likely the work of Liu Jun, a court painter of the Ming dynasty, whose work is characterized by dramatic scenes populated with figures. China, Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.