XU GU (1824-1896)

Monk-artist Xu Gu was unusually fond of painting squirrels, and he did so frequently throughout most of his painting career. In all cases, they are characterized by fur that appears electrified in its energy and by skinny, rodent-like paws. Painted in his final years, the fuzzy quality of this squirrel's fur is in noted contrast to the soft and smooth pastel surfaces of the fruit that he is about to eat. Pondering Xu Gu's fascination with squirrels, Tsao Jung Ying writes, "...his [Xu Gu's] frequent choice of the squirrel as the center of interest in his pictures suggest his fondness for these creatures as well as this veneration for their gentle, innocent character. Dwelling peacefully in the forest, uncorrupted by human civilization, content just to have their bellies full, these aminals symbolized for Xugu the purity of mind, the freedom of spirit to which he himself aspired" (Berkeley, 1993, p. 144).