Lady in a bamboo grove

Lady in a bamboo grove

Qiu Ying

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Qiu Ying was a professional painter who lived and worked in Suzhou during the city’s flourishing sixteenth century. At the time, social divisions between educated elites and professional painters could sometimes be difficult to cross, but Qiu Ying managed to mix with the circle of Wen Zhengming despite the fact that he did not share their extensive literary training. This painting of a woman in a bamboo grove typifies Qiu’s ability to paint with polished, meticulous brushwork while still maintaining the atmosphere of understated elegance that appealed to his scholarly friends.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.