# Squirrel and Grapes

- By: Shen Yongling (Chinese, 1614-1698)
- Date: Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 1694
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: 84.7 × 30.6 cm (33 1/4 × 12 1/4 in.)
- Culture: China
- Credit line: Samuel M. Nickerson Endowment
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/183287)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/8c56e29b-6b6f-394d-3a62-21c811932b72/full/832,/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

In Chinese art, images of squirrels and grapes convey wishes for many children and enduring prosperity. Together, squirrels’ prolific breeding and grapes’ clustered growth symbolize limitless generations. Artist Shen Yongling was renowned for depicting this subject. Here, a plump yet agile squirrel balances on a twisting branch, gazing up at heavy grape clusters. Shen rendered the scene in the mogu (“boneless”) technique, softly layering ink washes rather than using lines to define forms.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0