Artwork Page for Mother with Sons Playing Music

Details / Information for Mother with Sons Playing Music

Mother with Sons Playing Music

母子奏樂圖

1736–95

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign

(1736–95)
Medium
Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Measurements
Print only: 96.8 x 50.8 cm (38 1/8 x 20 in.); With mount: 109.5 x 57.5 cm (43 1/8 x 22 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2025.36
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
Print
?

Did You Know?

Woodblock printing in color reached a height in China in the 1600s to 1700s. The prints were executed by means of sets of separate blocks, each carved to print a different color.

Description

In the 1600s, printing flourished in such Jiangnan cities as Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Huizhou, evolving from privately enjoyed illustrated books printed in color to more commercialized single-sheet color prints that were hung on walls and became part of the rich urban visual culture.
A vertically oriented polychrome woodblock print depicts a woman and child with light skin tones in dark blue and patterned orange clothing against a tree and circular opening. To our right, the woman watches the child run toward our left. To our left, a peacock with a fanned tail perches on a jagged blue rock. The entire scene is framed within a blue floral border.

Mother with Sons Playing Music

1736–95

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)

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