Artwork preview

Letter to the artist’s father-in-law, Wu Yu

Wen Zhengming

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A rectangular piece of aged paper contains dense rows of handwritten Chinese characters in black ink. The text spans the entire surface, with no visible images or pictures. Two red stamps are placed at the bottom left corner. The paper's background is a uniform light brown color with darker edges and some darker spots scattered throughout. The writing fills the page, with some lines of text running vertically along the left edge that are mostly sideways. The overall appearance suggests an aged, historical document.

Artwork Details

Date
datable to 1506–10
Medium
Album leaf; ink on patterned paper
Culture
China
Dimensions
599 × 447 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette