Three Horses and Four Grooms

c. 1320s

Ren Renfa

Ren Renfa (Chinese, 1254–1328)

Chinese Art

Three Horses and Four Grooms, c. 1320s. Ren Renfa (Chinese, 1254–1328). Handscroll, ink and color on silk; painting: 28.5 x 137.5 cm (11 1/4 x 54 1/8 in.); overall: 29.2 x 556.4 cm (11 1/2 x 219 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1960.181 Only the elegant first horse with a white blaze is accompanied by two grooms, as if its lightning speed required extra supervision.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Ren Renfa
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: handscroll, ink and color on silk
Medium: handscroll, ink, color, silk
Dimensions: Painting: 28.5 x 137.5 cm (11 1/4 x 54 1/8 in.); Overall: 29.2 x 556.4 cm (11 1/2 x 219 1/16 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: 月山道人. [印] 任氏子明 Translation: Artist's signature and seal: Yue shan dao ren. [seal] Ren shi zi ming. Inscription: 1 colophon and 16 additional seals: 1 poem, 1 colophon dated 1552 or 1612, and 3 seals of Wang Yiying 王一瀛 (1500s); 2 seals of Liang Qingbiao 梁清標 (1620-1691); 6 seals of the Qianlong 乾隆 Emperor (r. 1736-95); 3 seals of the Jiaqing 嘉慶 Emperor (r. 1796-1821); 1 seal of the Xuantong 宣統 Emperor (r. 1908-12); 1 seal of Yu Xiezhong 余協中 (1900s). Inscription: Poem and colophon by Wang Yiying 王一瀛 (1500s): As for painters of horses in the previous dynasty, Surely the name of Yueshan [Ren Renfa] must come first. Under his brush and on his silk, They seem to have just galloped out from the imperial stud. Now as the world overflows with inferiority, Who, from the stable, can recognize a dragon-horse amidst mediocrity. Ren Yueshan [Ren Renfa] of the Yuan Dynasty was best in horse paintings. The three fine steeds he painted in this scroll are so dashing, so vigorous in spirit that they have indeed grasped some of the "brush-idea" of Han Gan. Not long ago this painting came into the possession of Mr. Gui Shanquan, who asked for my inscription. And I, while reading the old manuscripts of Hengshan [Wen Zhengming, 1470-1559], by accident, came cross the poem quoted above. As the ancients said "in painting horses, Master Han was [inspired by and produced] real horses; in composing poems, Master Su [Su Dongpo, the leading Song poet] wrote as if a painting were before him." These are truly what should be considered the two excellences; indeed, they are to be treasured. In the sixth month of the renzi year [either 1552 or 1612]. Jian feng shan ren [The Mountain Dweller of the Sword Peak], Wang Yiying, written in the Qu si ting Pavilion at Chiyang.
Departments: Chinese Art
Accession Number: 1960.181
Credit Line: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
Exhibitions: Year in Review - Nineteen Hundred Sixty, Chinese Art, History of the Appaloosa Horse, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, Power and Virtue: Images of Horses in Chinese Art, Silent Poetry: Masterworks of Chinese Painting, Galloping through Dynasties: Decoding Chinese Horse Painting, Chinese Art: an exhibition of paintings, jades, bronzes and ceramics. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts (1962)., Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yüan Dynasty, 1279-1368. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 24, 1968), Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 10-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982)., Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 120). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 11-July 13, 2004)., Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 242). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 21, 2013-July 28, 2014).
Rights Statement: CC0