Floral Painting, Album Leaves
Chen Zhuan
Qing Dynasty
- MEDIUM:Ink and color on paper
- FORMATS:Album of 12 leaves
- DIMENSIONS:Height 24.5 cm; Width 32.5 cm
Introduction
Chen Zhuan’s surviving works are few, mostly small album leaves, with colour paintings being especially rare. This Floral Painting album is one of his representative masterpieces. The twelve leaves sequentially depict plum blossom, orchid, peach blossom, cherry, fingered citron, camellia, scholar’s rock, white geese, hibiscus, withered leaves, mixed flowers, and narcissus.
Chen Zhuan paints only in one corner of each paper, leaving large areas of blank space. The brushwork is concise and flowing, with delicate, understated colours that highlight the literati aesthetic. Each painting is accompanied by an elegantly written poem related to the subject, featuring light, graceful calligraphy and refined, poetic language.
The Album has a well-documented provenance, featuring a total of five short comments by Qing dynasty painter Yan Yu, connoisseur Di Xuegeng, and collector Li Shifen.
