The Singer Su Xiaoxiao
Kang Tao
1746
- Medium
- Ink and light color on paper
- Dimensions
- 65 1/4 × 29 15/16 in. (165.7 × 76 cm) (image) 101 3/16 × 39 in. (257 × 99.1 cm) (overall, without roller) 105 × 43 1/4 in. (266.7 × 109.9 cm) (mount, with roller)
- Genre
- Painting
Tags
China
About
Kang Tao typically painted Daoist immortals and ethereal beauties, rather than real people. This painting, of famous singer Su Xiaoxiao (c. 479–501) sitting pensively upon a rock amid frozen bamboo, is a rare exception. Kang’s accompanying poem portrays Xiaoxiao as an aging beauty, saddened not by the passing seasons, but by being forgotten by her lover as she has grown older. Yet seated here, she notices pleasant spring breezes replacing the frigid winds, and her heart begins to heal.