Flower Painting c. late 18th century

ink, color-on-paper

aged paper

toned paper

pastel soft colours

personal sketchbook

ink

color-on-paper

china

sketchbook drawing

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

cartoon carciture

sketchbook art

watercolor

This delicate handscroll painting, created by the renowned Chinese artist Mianyi in the late 18th century, depicts a cluster of narcissus flowers amidst verdant foliage. The artist's masterful use of brushstrokes and washes creates a sense of airy lightness, emphasizing the beauty and fragility of the blooms. The understated elegance of the composition, with its emphasis on negative space, is characteristic of the literati style of painting that flourished in China during this period. This particular artwork, housed in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, exemplifies Mianyi's expertise in depicting flora, showcasing his keen eye for detail and ability to capture the essence of nature.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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These delicate flower studies were painted by Mianyi , an imperial prince who lived in Beijing during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The four double leaves originally formed an album that was once in the imperial collection. The frontispiece, in fact, bears the seal of the Jia Jing emperor who reigned from 1796 to 1821. Like most of the educated elite, Mianyi was well versed in classical literature, music, and calligraphy, but he excelled at painting and is best known for his flower studies, The use of color (versus ink), interest in descriptive detail, and facile technique are typical not only of Prince Chen, but of Chinese court taste in general during the eighteenth century. This album illustrates the type of amateur painting practiced among the court intelligentsia. Descriptive, technically accomplished and decorative, the aesthetic of these leaves are quite apart from the more cerebral ink landscapes of the literati tradition