Artwork Page for Plum Blossoms

Details / Information for Plum Blossoms

Plum Blossoms

梅花

probably 1739

Wang Shishen 汪士慎

(Chinese, 1686–1759)
Culture
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Measurements
Painting: 144.4 x 75.7 cm (56 7/8 x 29 13/16 in.); Overall: 238 x 89.1 cm (93 11/16 x 35 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.366
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

A native of Anhui province, Wang Shishen was a professional painter who specialized in plum blossoms. He moved to Yangzhou in the late 1720s to seek patrons. Here, the daring composition of a flowering plum branch is balanced through the addition of four poems. Wang’s poems evoke nostalgia for the forgotten Six Dynasties period and the glorious Sui dynasty, during which the Grand Canal was built while Yangzhou was the southern capital of the empire. Other inscriptions in the upper part of the painting allude to the fact that Wang had developed blindness in one eye, probably at the time he conceived this painting.
A hanging scroll in black ink on paper depicts a gnarled plum branch extending from the right, curving across the center and scattered with pale blossoms against the beige background. Thin, spindly offshoots reach out, while several blocks of Chinese calligraphy and red square seals are positioned at the top, upper right, and bottom. Dark, textured brushstrokes form the main branch, contrasting with the fine lines of the flowers and vertical text.

Plum Blossoms

probably 1739

Wang Shishen

(Chinese, 1686–1759)
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

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