Chen Shu (painter)

Chen Shu (simplified Chinese: 陈书; traditional Chinese: 陳書; pinyin: Chén Shū; 1660–1735) was a female Chinese painter during the early Qing dynasty. She was born in Xiuzhou (now Jiaxing) and was also known by the courtesy name Nanlou and her literary names "Shangyuan Dizi" and "Nanlou Laoren". She is considered the first female painter of Qing dynasty as well as the inaugurator of Xiushui School painting style.^[1] Apart from her artistic works, she was also known as the mother of Qing statesman and poet Qian Chenqun (zh:钱陈群). After the early death of her husband, Chen raised her son by herself. When the latter became a prominent statesman in the court of the Qianlong Emperor, he introduced the emperor to his mother's paintings. Through this avenue she became favored by Qianlong, and many of her works were featured in the imperial collection (today in both the Palace Museum in Beijing and the National Palace Museum in Taipei). Chen painted figures, landscapes, and flower-and-bird paintings.^[2]