Accession Number
1996/2.28

Title
Lotus Blossom, one of a pair of album leaves

Artist(s)
Jin Nong

Object Creation Date
circa 1754-1756

Medium & Support
album leaf, ink and color on paper

Dimensions
11 3/16 in x 12 3/16 in (28.42 cm x 30.96 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Label copy
Jin Nong was one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, a group of highly individualistic artists active in the metropolis of Yangzhou. He began his career as a calligrapher, taking up painting at the age of sixty. A master of many subjects—bamboo, flowers, landscapes, horses, self-portraits, Buddhist images, and more —Jin Nong was the most prolific painter of the Yangzhou school.
 
Like many of his flower paintings, these album leaves—possibly from a larger set—are painted in a light and lively manner. Lotus Blossom pairs two flowers with an inscription in Jin Nong’s distinctive calligraphy:
 
In the evening, the rustic fragrance [of the lotus blossom] invites the guests to linger, while the egrets at the Thirty-six Ponds and the whole world [enjoy] a cool [breeze].
 
Jin Nong experimented with various types of calligraphy, including “print-type” calligraphy based on a Ming-dynasty (1368–1644) script. The brushstrokes are even and angular and the characters balanced and clear, in vivid contrast to the delicate brushwork of the blooms.

Fall rotation 2016

Primary Object Classification
Unbound Work

Primary Object Type
leaf

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Western;Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Plants
calligraphy
calligraphy (process)
flower (motif)
flowers
lotus
lotus (motif)