The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 30, 2026

A hanging silk scroll depicts green bamboo and snow-tipped red camellia branches rising behind a porous gray rock on the left. Several small birds perch in the upper bamboo against the beige background. At the rock's base, a white rabbit sits among white flowers. In the lower right, a brown rabbit stands on tan ground, looking up toward the left. Delicate strokes highlight the animals' fur and the pointed bamboo leaves.

Two Rabbits in Winter

late 1400s–early 1500s

Lü Ji

(Chinese, 1430–1514)
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Overall: 254.6 x 113 cm (100 1/4 x 44 1/2 in.)
Private Collection 15.2025
Location: 240A Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy

Description

In this serene winter scene, two rabbits meet beneath blooming camellias, garden rocks, and bamboo. The gray rabbit lifts a paw and glances back, while the white one crouches low, as if playing “hide and seek.” Ming court painter Lü Ji captures this vivid moment with sophisticated brushwork in a dynamic composition and bold colors. His decorative style, combining plant motifs and animals, later influenced Japanese bird-and-flower painting from the 1700s onward through the artist Shen Quan and the Nanpin School, a circle of painters who promoted detailed and lifelike bird-and-flower imagery in Nagasaki.
  • Gracious Pine Studio collection
  • A Myriad of Flowers and Birds in Chinese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 2025-May 24, 2026).
  • {{cite web|title=Two Rabbits in Winter|url=false|author=Lü Ji|year=late 1400s–early 1500s|access-date=30 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/15.2025