Chen Hongshou Beggar Map Axis

[Chen Hongshou Beggar Map Axis]

Beggar Map Axis, Ming Dynasty, painted by Chen Hongshou, silk version, colored, 34.4 cm vertically and 26.2 cm horizontally
The picture shows the beggar standing with a stick. The title is “Chen Hongshou imitates Li Boshi’s picture of a beggar”, and the seal is “Chen Hongshou’s seal” and “Zhang Hou’s father”. A beggar is another name for a monk, which means “to beg for the Buddha and to beg for food for all living beings”. Volume 1 of the “Fahua Yishu” reads: “The monks are called beggars. The Buddha begged for the Dharma to practice the spirit, and the layman begged for food to support himself, so they are called beggars
The figure in the picture is slightly exaggerated, with simple and concise lines and high quaint meaning. Zhang Geng of the Qing Dynasty pointed out in the “Collection of Paintings of the National Dynasty” that Chen Hongshou’s paintings of the characters “have a great body, a clear, round and strong clothing pattern, and have both the beauty of (Li) Gonglin and (Zhao) Ziang”. Although the picture is titled to imitate Li Gonglin, it actually turns round into square and whole into pieces. It is mainly to imitate the beauty and charm of Li Gonglin’s line drawing method. It is not like in shape but like in spirit. A few strokes immediately depict the spiritual realm of the beggar