Leng Mei (active 1691-1742)

unsigned, with two seals of the artist, leng mei (2), ji chen (2)

Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, Chinese Furniture and Decorations, including Rugs, Textiles and Paintings, Nov. 7, 1981, Lot 12
Dr. Ip Yee, Hong Kong
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Paintings: Property of the Estate of Dr. Ip Yee, Nov. 21, 1984, Lot 41
Edwin E. Meader, Kalamazoo, MI

The Literati Mode: Chinese Scholar Paintings, Calligraphy and Desk Objects, London: Sydney L. Moss Ltd., 1986, no. 22, pp. 80-89
James Cahill, The Painter's Practice: How Artists Lived and Worked in Traditional China, NY: Columbia University Press, 1994, fig. 3.12, p. 84
Liebeskunst: Liebeslust und Liebesleid in der Weltkunst (Art of Love: Lust and Suffering of Love in World Art), Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 2002, nos. 158, 159, 160, 161, pp. 208-211.

Note: Leng Mei is one of the least understood Kangxi and Qianlong imperial painters; and there is very little recorded concerning his exact activities during the Yongzheng reign period. After the Jesuit master, Lang Shining - a special case - he was by far the best-paid of all Qianlong imperial atelier painters, extremely talented in a number of ways. According to the late Wai-kam Ho, the majority of Leng's best paintings are to be found hidden away in the two locked trunks of the Yongzheng Emperor's collection of erotica in the Forbidden City, and in recent years they have been shown only to a small number of Chinese art historians.

Apart from the evident refinements of detail and sense of humor employed, note the symbolism and sexual imagery, sometimes subtle but often blatant, depicted in each leaf. But it is the snowy urban scene outside, through the unusual picture-windows, which reveals the imperial atelier Jesuit influence upon the painter, with its European buildings and mirrored reflections in the water. All of the leaves display superb detailing; the varied message of each leaf depends for its subtle impact upon the details, subject matter is also entirely original and varied throughout.