Artwork Page for Ink Flowers

Details / Information for Ink Flowers

Ink Flowers

墨花圖

1361

Zhao Zhong 趙衷

(Chinese, second half of the 1300s)
Culture
China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)
Medium
Handscroll; ink on paper
Measurements
Overall: 31.8 x 153.2 cm (12 1/2 x 60 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1967.36
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

This handscroll is a very rare example of ink flowers in the linear baimiao style of the fourteenth century.

Description

Zhao Zhong's flowers, each paired with a poem, echo the fine-style colored flowers of the academic tradition, but instead he used only ink. Fine lines define the contours of each plant, as well as the veins within each petal and leaf. Careful ink washes give subtle modeling to the forms.

The combination of lily, narcissus, and peony is unusual as the three belong to no known seasonal or symbolic system popular in the fourteenth century. Zhao’s medical training may have influenced the selection. Powdered lilies, for example, were prescribed to dispel grief, while the bark of tree peony roots was used as a treatment for various blood disorders.
A handscroll in black ink on light paper features three floral studies interspersed with Chinese calligraphy and red stamps (see "Inscriptions"). From our left, fine outlines define a peony with layered petals, while long, sweeping strokes form a narcissus with blade-like leaves in the center. Lilies branch from a stem on our right. Darker washes highlight foliage against the light paper, and delicate strokes delineate blossoms throughout the horizontal composition.

Ink Flowers

1361

Zhao Zhong

(Chinese, second half of the 1300s)
China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)

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