Hibiscus from a Flower Album of Ten Leaves by Xiang Shengmo

Hibiscus from a Flower Album of Ten Leaves 1656

ink, color-on-paper

vegetal

water colours

leaf

culinary art

ink

color-on-paper

food illustration

botanical photography

botanical drawing

china

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

botanical art

watercolor

"Hibiscus from a Flower Album of Ten Leaves" is a delicate watercolor painting by Xiang Shengmo, a prominent Chinese artist from the Ming Dynasty. This artwork, dated 1656, showcases a single stem of yellow chrysanthemums, rendered in the artist's signature style, known for its precision and subtlety. The painting captures the beauty of the flowers with a light touch, utilizing washes of pale colors and fine lines. It is part of a larger album of ten leaves, which was probably created for a private collector, highlighting the rich tradition of botanical art in China. The inclusion of Chinese calligraphy on the right side of the painting provides further context and poetic commentary, elevating the artwork to a form of visual poetry.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Xiang Shengmo was born into one of the most prestigious families in Jiaxing, a city in northeastern China. When the Manchu invasion reached Jiaxing, in 1645, many of Xiang’s friends and relatives died in a vain attempt to save their city. His homestead was destroyed and his family’s art collections lost. Following this upheaval, Xiang’s painting changed from an amateur, literati pursuit, becoming a source of income. Xiang was at the height of his technical and expressive powers when he created this album, featuring a wide range of flowers including wintersweet, cockscomb, apricot, pear, daylily, and cassia. He worked here in pure color without ink outlines and in shaded brushstrokes, which give the impression of three-dimensional modeling.