清 徐祥 小鳥水仙 扇面|Birds and Narcissus

Xu Xiang

dated 1883 · Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on alum paper · Asian Art

Xu Xiang was first a student of Qian Huian, but later studied with Ren Yi and adopted a freer brush technique. In this fan, the easy naturalism of the pair of birds, whose white markings are used like highlights, contrasts with the rather still flower cluster frontally depicted in outline technique. Juxtaposition of different techniques and a strange lack of consistent scale combine to produce a picture that does not quite hold together, but it nonetheless describes the liberties that artists were free to take in the cosmopolitan climate of Shanghai.

Artist

Xu Xiang

Date

dated 1883

Medium

Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on alum paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986