Famous horse painter Han Qian's "White Picture at Night"

[New Sancai First Release] "White Picture at Night" is a work by Han Qian (ca. 706-783), a famous horse painter in the Tang Dynasty. What is painted in the painting is Emperor Xuanzong's mount "Zhao Yebai".

Public information shows that after Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (reigned 712-756) married Princess Yihe to King Ningyuan of Dawan, King Ningyuan gave two bloody horses in return, which were named "Zhaoye Bai" and "Yuhua" by Xuanzong. Cong".

The "Zhao Ye Bai" in the "Zhao Ye Bai Picture" above is tied to a wooden stake, but its head is raised and neighing, as if it is trying to break free from the reins. Its lines are concise and express the attitude of a horse.

"White Picture at Night" is a treasure that collectors of all ages have been striving for. In addition to Li Yu, the late emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Mi Fu Wei Su of the Northern Song Dynasty and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty also left a large number of poems on the scroll.

This painting was originally collected by the Qing Palace and leaked out in the late Qing Dynasty. In order to raise funds for restoration, Puwei, the grandson of Prince Gong Yixin, began to sell off the treasures in the mansion, including this picture. When the Japanese invaded China in the 1930s, the British collector David Tort bought "White Picture at Night" from Pu Wei. After several twists and turns, "White Night" was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York by The Dillon Fund in 1977.

(Compiled by: Bai Ding)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)