The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Flowers of Four Seasons, with Poems

Flowers of Four Seasons, with Poems

1531
(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.
  • Ch'eng Ch'i
    1977-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • 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
  • 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=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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