Shanghai museum adds classical horse painting to collection
Chinese art history has produced several great painters who were also government officials with expertise in different areas. Ren Renfa, who lived in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), set one such example: He was known for overseeing water-control projects in his career and was also adept at painting horses.
Five Drunken Lords Return on Horses, a vivid Chinese ink painting attributed to Ren, was recently added to the collection of the Long Museum, founded by Shanghai-based collectors Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei.
The 2-meter-long painting shows five lords of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) on the way back home after a feast, and presents excellent painting techniques rendering different depictions of the five lords, their servants and horses.
The museum, which already houses a dozen fine examples of classical Chinese paintings and calligraphy, acquired the painting at Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong on Oct 8, for HK$306 million ($39 million).
