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Zhao Bosu
Southern Song imperial clansman and painter, younger brother of Zhao Boju, known for blue-and-green landscapes and architectural painting
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Zi Xiyuan
Zhao Bosu, courtesy name Xiyuan, was a seventh-generation descendant of the founding Song emperor Taizu and younger brother of the painter Zhao Boju; he moved south with the court and lived in Lin'an. Like his brother he was known for blue-and-green landscapes and also painted figures and flowers and birds, with especially fine architectural drawing, continuing the line of the Tang painter Li Sixun in a softer manner. Golden Palace among Ten Thousand Pines, a coloured handscroll on silk in the Palace Museum, Beijing, bears no signature or seal, but Zhao Mengfu's Yuan colophon identifies it as his work. He was born in 1124 and died in 1182.
Life and times
Dates 1124 CE–1182 CE