Blossoming Plum 1840

"Blossoming Plum" is a delicate ink painting on paper by Tang Yifen, a renowned Chinese artist of the Qing dynasty. The artwork, completed in 1840, depicts a single plum branch with delicate blossoms, rendered with sparse, expressive strokes. The artist's masterful use of ink creates a sense of fragility and ethereal beauty, a hallmark of the literati style that emphasized individual expression and emotional resonance. The painting is a testament to Yifen's skill and the enduring appeal of the plum blossom as a symbol of resilience and purity in Chinese culture. The artwork is currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.