Chen Hongshou

Chinese artist
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Print
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Also known as: Ch’en Hung-shou
Quick Facts
Wade-Giles romanization:
Ch’en Hung-shou
Born:
1599, Zhuji, Zhejiang province, China
Died:
1652 (aged 53)

Chen Hongshou (born 1599, Zhuji, Zhejiang province, China—died 1652) was a Chinese artist noted for his curious, masterfully executed paintings of ancient personalities. His works suggest the disquiet of the artist caught between the decline of the Ming dynasty and the conquest of the foreign Manchus, who established the Qing dynasty.

Chen’s father died when the boy was nine, but his uncle ensured his scholarly education. After twice failing the government examinations, he achieved official status in 1645, only to have to flee before the advancing Manchus. He became a Buddhist monk in 1646 but was torn between the conflicting ideals of Confucian government service and Buddhist retirement. His paintings suggest something of those tensions in dealing with ancient subjects and figure styles; indeed, Chen gave a brief but vigorous new life and dignity to the art of figure painting that had been in limbo since the Song dynasty (960–1279). He sought the quality of his figure subjects rather than their absolute likeness. His highly finished paintings combine elegant line with decorative colour, and his figures have attenuated faces and exaggerated, curvilinear drapery.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.