↗Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · late 1790s
Cherry Blossoms in the Wind
Utagawa Toyokuni
Colour palette
#BBAE95#B0A189#B6A990#938873#A59C83#BEBBA1
Approximate colour proportions
Estimated from six colour groups in the museum image, including visible paper or borders. Reproduction and lighting affect the result; these are image-area proportions, not pigment measurements.
Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image: public domain (CC0) · Museum record & image source ↗
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · 1500
Flowering Crab Apple
- Date
- 1500
- Medium
- hanging scroll; ink on paper
- 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.)
- Country / context
- China
- Movement / tradition
- Chinese painting
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Pathway
- Chinese painting ↗
FROM THE MUSEUM
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.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0A MOMENT TO LOOK
Start with what you can see: shapes, surface, colour and scale. How might the listed materials affect the way this object was made and experienced?
Looking prompt · an invitation to observe, not a historical interpretation.
