Ink Plum, by Peng Xu, late 1400s–early 1500s
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Ink Plum

Peng Xu (Chinese, active 1488–1521)

late 1400s–early 1500s

Medium
hanging scroll, ink on silk
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
Painting: 127.2 x 66.8 cm (50 1/16 x 26 5/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 218.8 x 75.3 cm (86 1/8 x 29 5/8 in.)
Culture
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese Art
Credit line
John L. Severance Fund
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

View at the Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

Seasonal paintings, including those depicting flowering plum trees in early spring, furnished scholars’ studios or other interior spaces in the house.

Peng Xu is considered the foremost follower of the famous plum blossom painter Wang Mian (1287–1359) (see CMA 1974.26). The branches are brushed in the same vigorous manner leaving white streaks in the ink indicating the gnarled bark. The delicate blossoms are drawn in fine lines, while a gray wash covers the entire surface, only leaving the flower petals in reserve.