The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Flowers of Four Seasons, with Poems

1531

Wang Guxiang

(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.
  • ?–1977
    (Cheng Qi [Ch'eng Ch'i] 程琦 [1911–1988], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1977–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mi dian zhu lin shi qu bao ji. San bian 秘殿珠林石渠寶笈. 三編. Taipei: National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院, 1969. Facsimile reprint of original manuscript dated 1816. pp. 1976, 1977
    Ferguson, John C 福開森. Li dai zhu lu hua mu 歷代著錄畵目. Nanjing: Chin-ling University, Zhong guo wen hua yan jiu suo 金陵大學中國文化硏究所, 1934. vol. I, 63(a)
    Chen, Rentao 陳仁濤. An annotated list of lost calligraphy and painting from the (Qing) Palace Collection = 故宮已佚書畫目校注. Hong Kong: 統營公司: 東南書局, 1956. p. 22(a)
    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
    Cheng, Qi 程琦. Catalogue of calligraphy and painting in the author's collection = 萱暉堂書畫錄. Hong Kong: Xuanhuitang 萱暉堂, 1972. pp. 77(b)–78(a)
    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. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat no. 180, pp. 229–230
  • 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).
    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).
    Urban Council and the Min Chiu Society, Ming and Ch'ing. City Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong, (June 12-July 12, 1970).
  • {{cite web|title=Flowers of Four Seasons, with Poems|url=false|author=Wang Guxiang|year=1531|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.4