Snow-covered Landscape

Pu Ru, better-known by his courtesy name Pu Xinyu, was born to the imperial family in Beijing at the end of the Chinese Empire. From his early youth, he was educated in the traditional manner and excelled in all three noble disciplines – poetry, calligraphy and painting. He is seen as one of the last literati painters in China whose art harmoniously blends these three skills. The vertically structured landscape painting depicts a massif of mountains with a monastery covered in drifts of snow. According to the inscription, it was inspired by the style of Li Cheng (ca 919-967), who won recognition precisely for such winter landscapes and depictions of snowy groves. Pu Ru was a great connoisseur of old paintings, and liked to create works inspired by the paintings of the older masters.