Flowers of the Four Seasons
Artist Unknown (Chinese)
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 18th/19th century
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 136.2 × 70.7 cm (53 5/8 × 27 7/8 in.)
- Culture
- China
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Asia
- Credit line
- Purchase, Oriental Art Sundry Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Meticulously outlined and colored with a finely tapered brush, these multiseasonal flowers—including iris, peony, lotus, poppy, lily, narcissus, chrysanthemum, nandina berry, and plum—display a draftsman-like style mastered by court artists. The inscription on this painting attributes its image of floral abundance to Yongrong, the sixth son of the Qianlong emperor (r. 1735-95). Prince Yongrong supervised the Imperial Household Department, which served diverse needs of the emperor and his family in the residential quarters of the palace. The attribution of this painting remains open to study.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
