Minneapolis Institute of Art

Three Ancient Poems in Cursive Script

Chen Chun

Date

c. 1535

Medium

Ink on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Chen Chun, one of the most important Ming dynasty calligraphers and flower painters, was born into a modestly prosperous literati family. His first teacher was the great literatus, Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), and between 1519 and 1523 he studied at the Imperial Academy in Beijing. While initially influenced by the writing style of Wen Zhengming, Chen quickly developed a personal approach based more on the calligraphy of the ancient masters Mi Fu (1051-1107) and Yang Ningshi (873-954). His running and cursive scripts ( Cao-shu ) for which he is most famous display characteristic fluidity, boldness, and exuberance. The frontispiece to the handscroll is written by Chen's friend and teacher Wen Zhengming, leader of the Wu school. Wen's four-character title reads: Pai Yang (Chen Chun) the sage of cursive script In these three ancient poems Chen writes with the exuberant fluidity that made him, along with Zhu Yunming (1461-1527) and Wen Zhengming, one of the most important Ming masters of Cao-shu script. China, Asia

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