Artist: Wen Congjian (1574-1648)
Date: Ming (1368-1644)
Dimensions: Height 30.2 cm, Width 131.2 cm
Material: Ink and colour on paper
Wen Congjian (1574-1648), also known by his zi (designated name) Yanke and hao (literary name) Zhenyan Laoren, was a native of Changzhou (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu province). He was the great-grandson of Wen Zhengming and the grandson of Wen Jia. He was skilled in painting landscapes, flowers, birds, figures, and horses, inheriting the artistic tradition of his family, with a simple and elegant style. At the end of this scroll, an additional sheet in running script features the text of Yan Yanzhi's Zhe-Bai Ma Fu (Prose on a Red and White Horse). The painting was later part of the collections of three prominent Shanghai connoisseurs: Jin Wangqiao, Wu Hufan, and Qian Jingtang.