明 仿陳淳 雜花圖 冊|Garden Flowers

Chen Chun

dated 1540 · Album of sixteen paintings and one leaf of calligraphy; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Following Shen Zhou’s (1427–1509) example of treating still-life painting as uninhibited “ink plays,” Chen Chun strove to turn his flower paintings into spontaneous “idea writings.” Realistic flower paintings had been a popular subject since at least the tenth century, and Chen Chun was perhaps the greatest exponent of this genre in his time. This album, with a rich variety of spring blossoms, treats flowers not merely as botanical specimens but also as inevitable reminders of the brevity of life, beauty, and material existence.

Artist

Chen Chun

Date

dated 1540

Medium

Album of sixteen paintings and one leaf of calligraphy; ink and color on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1986