PU RU (1896-1963)
Ode to the Sound of Autumn
Ink on paper, mounted for framing, inscribed by the artist and signed Xinyu, with two artist's seals Ming Yi and Pu Ru.
23 5/8 x 47 1/2in (60 x 120.6cm) the painting only; 31 5/8 x 67 7/16in (80.4 x 171.3cm) with the mounting
Footnotes:
溥儒 秋聲賦 水墨紙本 鏡心

鈐印：明夷、溥儒

Provenance:
Private Collection, New York, since 1960's

來源：
紐約私人收藏，1960年代入藏

The artist's inscription accompanying this painting is Ouyang Xiu's (1001-1072) Ode to the Sound of Autumn. The beloved verse describes the author hearing tumultuous sounds at night, and, as depicted here, he sends his servant to investigate. The boy reports back that the sky is clear and stars bright, and it is merely the wind in the trees. Thereupon the poet realizes seasonal change is occurring, and he laments the onset of autumn and passage of time.

There was another Pu Ru monochrome painting on the same theme, with a similar design of the architecture, figures and garden setting, but with a different orientation and dated 1962, sold at China Guardian Beijing, October 6th, 2014. As the ode inscribed on this painting is incomplete, it is likely that the current lot slightly predates the hanging scroll executed in 1962, in which the artist preserved his earlier design but revised the orientation to accommodate the long ode.