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HI,

I could use your help providing information about this small (11x10") painting of flowers. This was acquired in Japan about 60 years ago. A note in the box (copy attached below) says it was by and artist named Chu Ch'eng. I'd like to confirm and see if anybody has any information on the artist.

Thanks,

Jim

Yes, Zhu Cheng (as his name would be romanized today using the pinyin system) was indeed the younger brother of Zhu Xiong from whom he first learned painting, and lived between 1826 and 1900. Your picture seems to have the cyclical date gengyin 庚寅 in the second to last column, which would date it to 1890.

Here is a brief bio of him in Chinese, along with several other works attributed to him. As is usual in Chinese sources, the paintings are not labeled with their owner's names or the source of the image, so it's not clear which may be genuine and which not. You certainly have a Shanghai school painting, in a style that became common in the mid 19th century. It's not unreasonable to credit it to Zhu, but not certain either.

https://kknews.cc/culture/oxvkp.html

Some of the same pictures are shown here, along with others:
http://xtldcsj.blog.163.com/blog/static/94852378201351663018702/
(朱称 is how his name is written in simplified Chinese.)

Thanks once again!

I did a Zhejiang Library search on
Zhu Cheng and came up with a close
seal. Not a definite match but close.
I will check on his influence of Ju Lian
and the Gao brothers. May have been an
early inspiration.
Interesting.
John R

Nice find. Good to see that Jim's seal is a good quality item with a good impression

It's looking pretty good as a genuine Zhu Cheng.
I am including calligraphy comparisons and
brushwork comparisons. I used an image from
Stephen Little's large catalog of 19th and 20th Century
Chinese painters. "New Songs on Ancient Tunes"

Jim, your next step, if you want to pursue
authenticating your painting would be to find
out everything that you could about Zhu Cheng.
The Stephen Little catalog I mentioned would be
a good place to start. You need to find out more
about who he was. Chinese art is a very spiritual
practice. Understanding an artist's spirit and
essence is an important part of identifying their
work. Then find truly authentic works, especially
from later in his life to compare to yours. According
to rat's dating, Zhu would have been 64 years old
when he made the painting. Good luck, look for a
university near you that has a good reference library on Chinese art.

Hi John,

Thanks very much for checking on this. I think that it is a nicely painted little painting.

Jim

nice montage as always John R. really essential to juxtapose images for visual comparison.

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