Rei Shōjo (Ling Zhaonu)

1500s

Shunoku Sōen

Shunoku Sōen (Japanese, 1529–1611)

Japanese Art

Rei Shōjo (Ling Zhaonu), 1500s. Shunoku Sōen (Japanese, 1529–1611). Hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper; image: 97.6 x 37.2 cm (38 7/16 x 14 5/8 in.); overall: 183.4 x 49.3 cm (72 3/16 x 19 7/16 in.); with knobs: 183.4 x 54.5 cm (72 3/16 x 21 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Rosemarie and Leighton Longhi 1995.245 Legend has it that Chinese beauty Ling Zhaonu, whose name is pronounced Rei Shōjo in Japanese, was a model of devotion to her parents. She put great effort into selling baskets made by her elderly father, a devout Buddhist, thereby keeping the family afloat financially. The verse on the painting relates her story, and was inscribed by a Zen monk.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Shunoku Sōen
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper
Medium: hanging, scroll, ink, light, color, paper
Dimensions: Image: 97.6 x 37.2 cm (38 7/16 x 14 5/8 in.); Overall: 183.4 x 49.3 cm (72 3/16 x 19 7/16 in.); with knobs: 183.4 x 54.5 cm (72 3/16 x 21 7/16 in.)
Departments: Japanese Art
Accession Number: 1995.245
Credit Line: Gift of Rosemarie and Leighton Longhi
Exhibitions: Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art, Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art, Japanese art rotation
Rights Statement: CC0