The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Ink Plum

late 1400s–early 1500s

Peng Xu

(Chinese, active 1488–1521)
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
hanging scroll, ink on silk
Painting: 127.2 x 66.8 cm (50 1/16 x 26 5/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 218.8 x 75.3 cm (86 1/8 x 29 5/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1970.80
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Plum trees blossom in the first months of the year; the delicate flowers endure the harsh winter frosts. A popular motif in Chinese ink painting, the plum symbolizes the winter season and is a harbinger of spring.

Description

Seasonal paintings, including those depicting flowering plum trees in early spring, furnished scholars’ studios or other interior spaces in the house.

Peng Xu is considered the foremost follower of the famous plum blossom painter Wang Mian (1287–1359) (see CMA 1974.26). The branches are brushed in the same vigorous manner leaving white streaks in the ink indicating the gnarled bark. The delicate blossoms are drawn in fine lines, while a gray wash covers the entire surface, only leaving the flower petals in reserve.
  • ?-1970
    (Yamanaka and Co., Ltd., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1970-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman Emery, and James Robinson. The Colors of Ink: Chinese Paintings and Related Ceramics from the Cleveland Museum of Art. New York: Asia Society; distributed by New York Graphic Society, 1974. Reproduced: cat. no. 30
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 350 archive.org
    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. 144, p. 169.
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: p. 19, fig. 20; p. 149, fig. 1
  • Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 10-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).
    The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974).
    Year in Review: 1970. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-March 7, 1971).
  • {{cite web|title=Ink Plum|url=false|author=Peng Xu|year=late 1400s–early 1500s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1970.80