Blossoming plum from a Flower Album of Ten Leaves 1656
xiangshengmo
minneapolisinstituteofart
ink, color-on-paper
photo of handprinted image
water colours
ink painting
leaf
curved letter used
possibly oil pastel
ink
color-on-paper
underpainting
china
watercolour bleed
watercolour illustration
botanical art
watercolor
"Blossoming Plum from a Flower Album of Ten Leaves" is a delicate ink and color painting on paper by the Chinese artist Xiang Shengmo, created in 1656. The work features a single branch of a blossoming plum tree, rendered with meticulous detail and a sense of delicate beauty. The artist utilizes a minimalist approach, emphasizing the elegance and fragility of the subject, highlighting the grace of the branch, and showcasing the subtle transition between the delicate white blossoms and the bare, twisting branches. This painting is a prime example of the artist's skill in capturing the fleeting beauty of nature and the understated elegance of traditional Chinese ink painting.
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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.
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