Absorb the Past; Abandon the Present (1800s–1900s): Art, History and Details

Absorb the Past; Abandon the Present (1800s–1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Qian Hui'an (Chinese, 1833–1911).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Qian Huian, active in Shanghai, was best known for his paintings of beautiful women, and historic and mythological figures, rendered in a distinct style. His figures appear eccentric and the color palette pale to pink. The album’s title, Absorb the Past, Abandon the Present, reflect the desire to find refuge in China’s Past, as the country was going through the devastating Taiping rebellion at the time the paintings were created.

Object facts

• Title: Absorb the Past; Abandon the Present
• Date: 1800s–1900s
• Creator attribution: Qian Hui'an (Chinese, 1833–1911)
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Accordion-style album of 10 painted leaves; ink and color on silk
• Dimensions: 44 x 35 cm (17 5/16 x 13 3/4 in.); Each painting: 33 x 33 cm (13 x 13 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Album leaf
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 2023.163

A detail from the museum

Leaf four depicts Tao Yuanming, carried by servants in a basket as he had an ailing foot. Tao wrote the Peach Blossom Spring tale, in which a fisherman loses his way and ends up in a utopia.

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.