Rain of Flowers Through the Four Stages of Meditation
Orchids, lingzhi mushrooms, chrysanthemums, narcissus, and peonies emerge along this handscroll, which bears seasonal references and wishes for longevity and prosperity. Shifting between outlining contours and solely using wet-on-wet washes, Xugu created the effect of petals and leaves hovering in mist. This is one of the earliest surviving paintings by Xugu, who dedicated himself to Buddhism after his original career as a military officer. Though Xugu’s brief signature does not mention Buddhist references, a later scholar gave it the title Rain of Flowers Through the Four Stages of Meditation. Perhaps he saw in Xugu’s spectral flowers a Buddhist revelation of how form and formlessness become indefinite and interchangeable.
Artwork Details
- 清 虛谷 四禪花雨圖 卷
- Title: Rain of Flowers Through the Four Stages of Meditation
- Artist: Xugu (Zhu Huairen) (Chinese, 1823–1896)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 1866
- Culture: China
- Medium: Handscroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions: Image: 12 5/8 × 8 ft. 6 15/16 in. (32 × 261.5 cm)
Overall with mounting: 13 3/16 in. × 30 ft. 6 15/16 in. (33.5 × 932 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Jane DeBevoise and the Calello Family, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.549.52
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Xugu (Zhu Huairen) (Chinese, 1823–1896)
19th century
Xugu (Zhu Huairen) (Chinese, 1823–1896)
dated 1893
Xugu (Zhu Huairen) (Chinese, 1823–1896)
dated 1890
Xugu (Zhu Huairen) (Chinese, 1823–1896)
ca. 1880s
Xugu (Zhu Huairen) (Chinese, 1823–1896)
1894
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