# Flowering Crab Apple

- By: Shen Zhou (Chinese, 1427–1509)
- Date: 1500
- Medium: hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Painting: 87 x 28.5 cm (34 1/4 x 11 1/4 in.); Overall with knobs: 238.5 x 52.5 cm (93 7/8 x 20 11/16 in.)
- Culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Credit line: Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1997.101)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1997.101/1997.101_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Shen Zhou painted a broken branch (zhezhi 折枝) of crab apple, a fragment of nature rather than the full plant in its natural context. Shen uses calligraphic outlines in pure ink to depict the flower petals. The swift yet precise brushstrokes together with the slight S-shaped branch convey vitality.

The inscription is a poem written by the artist, commenting on the lovely color and melancholic aura of the crab apple blossom. Shen Zhou is the founder of the Wu School, a group of scholars and officials active around Suzhou in eastern China, known for practicing painting and calligraphy in a refined and elegant style.