Detail: The two most important museums in China, the PalaceMuseum in Beijing and the ShanghaiMuseum, along with The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have come together under the direction of the Museum Rietberg to assemble the first ever comprehensive presentation of the work of the youngest of the so-called `Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou’. Luo Ping was an extraordinary artist whose works influenced the course of later Chinese painting. Extremely versatile - his oeuvre includes portraits, figure paintings, landscapes and floral studies and embodies the vibrant diversity, complexity and brilliance of the Qing dynasty as it reached and passed its zenith. Featuring 27 works (94 images) by him, the exhibition will trace his career from Yangzhou to Beijing and reveal also the range and brilliance of his vision as well as his place among his peers. In addition, a selection of eight works (45 images) by Jin Nong, Luo's teacher and an elder member of the `Eight Eccentrics’, and of four works by Luo's wife, son and daughter give a more unified view of the great master's legacy. Many are Chinese `National Treasures’ complemented by 27 pieces from American collections. Highlights include the sensational handscroll Ghost Amusements, one of the best known paintings in the late imperial China, depicting the world of ghosts that the artist claimed he had seen with his own eyes. The exhibition will conclude with a group of 17 works by other Yangzhou Eccentrics that elucidate the broader cultural context for Luo Ping's career.
An accompanying 300-page fully-illustrated catalogue features eight essays and detailed individual entries by some of the leading scholars in the field.