Li Bai Offering Wine, Hanging Scroll
Huang Shen
Qing Dynasty
- MEDIUM:Ink and color on paper
- FORMATS:Hanging scroll
- DIMENSIONS:Height 218 cm; Width 121 cm
Introduction
Huang Shen was renowned for his figure painting, and this work was created when he returned to his native Ninghua, Fujian, at the age of seventy-two. The painting depicts the poet Li Bai lifting a cup to the heavens, while an attendant bows and offers a wine vessel. Huang Shen employed a cursive script-inspired brushwork, with deliberate variations in line thickness, ink intensity, and wetness, creating a rhythm that is both vigorous and controlled. The figures convey weight and vitality without appearing scattered, capturing the poet’s carefree spirit, echoing the sentiment of Li Bai’s verse: “Together we dispel the sorrows of ten thousand ages.” In the upper left, Huang Shen inscribed Li Bai’s poem “Bring in the Wine” in cursive script, with dynamic twists and turns, reminiscent of falling blossoms. The calligraphy’s energy and variation correspond with the gestures of the figures below. Huang Shen’s mastery of brush and ink, along with his expressive technique, brings both poetry and painting vividly to life.
