Garden Flowers

After Chen Chun Chinese

dated 1540

Not on view

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.

Artwork Details

明仿陳淳雜花圖冊
Title: Garden Flowers
Artist: After Chen Chun (Chinese, 1483–1544)
Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Date: dated 1540
Culture: China
Medium: Album of sixteen paintings and one leaf of calligraphy; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image (six leaves): 12 13/16 x 22 9/16 in. (32.5 x 57.3 cm)
Image (ten leaves): 13 1/8 x 22 3/4 in. (33.3 x 57.8 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1986
Object Number: 1986.266.1a–u
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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7631. Garden Flowers

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Poem on the Double Ninth ｆestival, Chen Chun Chinese, Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on gold paper, China — Poem on the Double Ninth ｆestival
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River Landscape, Chen Chun Chinese, Handscroll; ink and color on paper, China — River Landscape
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Sadaksari-Lokeshvara Surrounded by Manifestations and Monks, Distemper, gold and ink on cloth, Tibet — Sadaksari-Lokeshvara Surrounded by Manifestations and Monks
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