Minneapolis Institute of Art

Bamboo

Painter: Shao Mi

Date

1629

Medium

Ink on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Shao Mi was born and worked in the Suzhou area, the region of learning and refinement that became the center of Ming and early Qing painting during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Literati artists held a special fondness for bamboo; its energetic growth, ability to remain green through the cold season and ability to bend without breaking were qualities associated with the character of the gentleman scholar. We know from Shao's freely executed inscription that the artist's chief motive was expressionistic rather than representational. The brush must be free and unhindered In order to achieve its greatest potential That accomplishment can only be attained Outside of the inkwell (in the mind of the artist). Your friend Mi, recorded in the sixth month of the Chih-shih cycle (1629) 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.