SHEN QUAN (1682-1760), CRANE AND DEER

Ink and color on paper, signed Shen Quan Wuxing
China, ca. 1730-1740, Nanping School

Depicting a red-crowned Manchurian crane (Grus Japonensis) confronting a deer under a tree, surrounded by dominating rockwork, with blooming peonies and hibiscus plants.

Shen Quan was a Chinese painter. His courtesy name was Nanpin (or Nanping) and his sobriquet was Hengzhai. His works became influential in Japanese Edo period art. Shen was invited to Japan by a high official. He arrived in Nagasaki in the final month of 1731 with two students, acquiring many Japanese students after his arrival. His paintings soon became very popular, and after his 1733 return to China he continued to send paintings back to Japan. Shen had many pupils while in Japan; his most important was Kumashiro Yuhi, who in turn taught So Shiseki and Kakutei. Other artists influenced by Shen included Katsushika Hokusai, Maruyama Okyo, and Ganku. Shen's paintings were popular for their realistic, colored images of animals and flowers, and three-dimensional trees and rocks.

Seals: 1. Shen Quan 2. Nanping 3. Zhu Jiuri Duhua (this is a Japanese seal, the identical seal also found for example on a painting by Qian Du (1764-1844/45) in the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts)

Dimensions: 175 x 90 cm
Condition: Laid down on a wooden board; scratches, stained, creases, possibly trimmed; overall in fair condition, as visible on the images
Provenance: Austrian private collection

Literature comparison: China Guardian Auctions, December 19th, 2011, lot 1706. Christie's, September 15th, 1998, lot 98. (both for other crane and deer paintings by this artist)

沈銓（1682-1760）《仙鶴與鹿》
紙本水墨設色，“吳興沈銓寫â€
中國，約 1730-1740，南萍派
描繪了一棵樹下鶴鹿相對，仙鶴立於岩石之上，四周有盛開的牡丹和芙蓉以及松樹。
印: 1. 沈銓 2. 南萍 3. 朱九日讀畫記(在另一幅收藏于大阪市立美術館的錢杜 (1764-1844/45)畫作上可找到相同藏家印)
尺寸：175 x 90 cm
裝幀在木板上，有劃痕，染色，摺痕，可能有修剪過，如圖所見整體狀況不錯
奧地利私人收藏
文獻參考：中國嘉德，2011年12月19日，1706號拍品；佳士得，1998年9月15日，98號拍品（兩幅沈銓的《仙鶴與鹿》）