Artist: Badashanren

Dimensions: height: 358cm, width: 133.3cm

Hanging scroll

In the Painting of Pine and Deer, there stands a tall and thick old pine tree on the rugged rock. Under the rock and tree, two deer are resting on the grass, facing the opposite directions. The one with horn is looking into the distance; while the other is looking up into the sky sideways. There are orchid, glossy ganoderma, other small flowers and plants on the rocks around the lawn. The painter depicts the nearby objects realistically and in great detail, while distant ones illusively and in shadow, making the scenery neat and orderly. The vigorous lines and elegant ink color give us a sense of livingness and deep art conception. The painting is not only well done but also rare in the handed down works of Badashanren.

Bada shanren (1626-after 1705, still alive at age 80) is Zhu Da, with pedigree name Tong and many other studio names. He was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province and was a descendant of Lord Ning (Zhu Quan) of Ming Dynasty. When Ming Dynasty was conquered, he became a monk but resumed secular life again later. He was good at poetry and calligraphy, especially at painting. His paintings of landscape, birds and flowers are in his own special style and rich in sarcasm.