Chinese painting by Shen Quan (1682 - 1760) "Deer", Qing dynasty

Chinese painting on silk. It shows an elaborate landscape of fine green grass from which small plants and reddish ruyi branches emerge. In the centre, two deer (male and female) tilt their heads to the left, as if observing something happening beyond the painting. Both have a fine coat full of white speckles; the male, with his slender neck raised towards the sky, has a beautiful antler protruding from his head. On the right side, next to the characters "乾隆庚午春抄衡齊沈铨写", there is a beautiful steep mountain, so high that the clouds crash against it, from which a peach tree branch with three fruits grows. On the left side, framing the two beautiful animals, are two fine trees with sinuous trunks, abundant foliage and pink flowers.

The painting has a total of three square seals, two on the right side and one in the lower left corner.

The painting is surrounded by a hand-painted silk frame, which is also decorated with small ruyi connected to each other and painted in two shades of blue on an ochre background.

The upper part of the frame shows, on a sky-blue background emulating the sky, two phoenixes with their wings outstretched surrounded by multiple ruyi clouds.In contrast, the lower part of the frame depicts a raging sea by superimposing thin curves from which two imperial dragons emerge.This frame completes the composition by dividing it into three sections that allude to the sky, land and sea. 

The author, "沈銓", was a renowned artist who worked for a long period for the Qing court. His naturalistic pictorial style is the result of a profound investigation of the surrounding environment (botany, zoology...) combined with clear western influences. Quing dynasty (1644-1912).

Size: 132.5 x 64.3 cm; Size with frame: 260 x 85 cm.

Provenance:

- Admiral Giscaulime, belonging to the French expeditionary forces in China, 19th century (1860s).

- Current private French collection, obtained directly from the previous and only owner.