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Additional Views

Jun 12, 2002

Nov 12, 2009

Dec 3, 2012

Flowers of Four Seasons, with Poems

四時花卉

1531

Wang Guxiang 王穀祥

(Chinese, 1501–1568)

China, Ming dynasty

(1368–1644)

Handscroll, ink and light color on silk

Painting only: 24 x 545 cm (9 7/16 x 214 9/16 in.); Overall: 24 x 547.5 cm (9 7/16 x 215 9/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1977.4

Location

not on view

Description

In this painting, flowers are loosely arranged by the seasons: narcissus and peony represent early spring; yellow loquat and lotus, summer; chrysanthemum, autumn; and the plum and evergreen bamboo, winter. The artist added to each flower a poetic line of calligraphy associating each plant with a historic or legendary figure. For example, the chrysanthemum, along with the line “The untrammeled joy at the eastern fence,” refers to the poet Tao Yuanming (died AD 427) who enjoyed chrysanthemums at the eastern fence in his garden. The scroll illustrates Wang Guxiang’s mastery of free brushwork, combining light monochrome ink with transparent colors. In his inscription, Wang says he used the “boneless” style without outlines as developed during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). Wang was a native of Changzhou, a city in southeast China known for its rich flora and fauna, and flower-and-bird painting tradition.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Artist's inscription, signature, and 15 sealrs. Ink Orchids. Sewn as pendants for the man of worth, swaying quiety, fragrance in the valley. [seal] Hsiao-chu ts'un Peony. Wiping his face, the young gentleman Ho [Ho Yen of Wei, Three Kingdoms] appears to have been powdered. His previous life was the perfume-stealing Han Shou [of Chin, 265-419], the fragrance still lingers. [seal] Ts'un-wu chai. Flowering Crab Apple, New Bamboo. Shao-lin [Tu Fu, 712-770] had to put down his brush. [Flowering Crab Apple]. Yü-k'o [Wen T'ung, d. 1079) in vain wrote poems about [Bamboo]. [seal] Yu-shih. Lotus Flowers. When she turns her head, half-hidden by a fan, and casts a glance, all the beautiful women become colorless. [seal] K'ang yüeh huai. Loquat. Ripeness in summer. [seal] Lu-chih. Pomegranate Flower. Whenever I remember you I will send my thoughts, but where have you gone--the [skirt] of pomegranate red? [seal] Wu-ho Sheng. Day Lily. Plant the day lily to forget sorrow. [seal] Yu-shih. Chrysanthemum. The untrammelled joy at the eastern fence. [seal] Lu-chih. Begonia. Comparing it to the beauties of Spring, and spreading them out as trimming for the stone steps. [seal] Yu-shih. Hibiscus. In recent years I have always enjoyed looking at flowers; instead of dark red I preferred pink ones. [seal] Jen-sheng i-lou. Narcissus, Camellia. The jade girdle left behind at Lo River. [Narcissus]. The precious pearls glitter before Spring. [Camellia]. [seal] Lu-chih. Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica). A single branch in the wintry season. [seal] K'ang yüeh huai. Plum. Fragrant snow in the Lo-fou Mountains. [seal] Ts'un-wu chai. In the eleventh lunar month of the hsin-mao year of the Chia-ching era [1531], [I] imitated the boneless style of Yüan masters in sketching from life. Ku-hsiang [seals] Yu-shih; Lu-chih. trans. WKH/LYSL 2 colophons and 23 additional seals: 1 colophon dated 1632, and 2 seals of Li Jih-hua (1565-1635); 1 colophon and 2 seals of Hsiang Sheng-mo (1597-1658); 3 seals of Liang Ch'ing-piao (1620-1691); 6 seals of the Chia-ch'ing emperor (r. 1796-1820); 9 seals of Ch'eng Ch'i (20th c.)

Provenance

Ch'eng Ch'i

1977-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Lee, Sherman E., and Wai-kam Ho. The Nature and Significance of the Collection of Liang Ch'ing-Piao. Taipei, Taiwan: Chung-hua ming-kuo, 1960. Mentioned: p. 145, no. 251

Min qiu jing she 敏求精舍 and Hong Kong Museum of Art 博物美術館. Ming Qing hui hua zhan lan [明清繪畫展覽 = Exhibition of paintings of the Ming & Ching periods, jointly presented by the Urban Council & the Min Chiu society]. Hong Kong: Bo wu mei shu guan, 1970. cat. no. 16

Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: cat no. 180, pp. 229-230

Lee, Sherman E., and Wai-kam Ho. The Nature and Significance of the Collection of Liang Ch'ing-Piao. Taipei, Taiwan: Chung-hua ming-kuo, 1960.

145

Exhibition history

Urban Council and the Min Chiu Society, Ming and Ch'ing. City Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong, (June 12-July 12, 1970).

Main Asian Gallery Rotation (Gallery 122). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 10-April 7, 2004).

Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).

Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 13, 2018-February 3, 2019).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Flowers of Four Seasons, with Poems|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.4|author=Wang Guxiang|year=1531|access-date=01 April 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Flowers of Four Seasons, with Poems

Flowers of Four Seasons, with Poems

四時花卉

Wang Guxiang 王穀祥

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