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About the Artwork
In this painting, flowers are loosely arranged by the seasons: narcissus and peony represent early spring; yellow loquat and lotus, summer; chrysanthemum, autumn; and the plum and evergreen bamboo, winter. The artist added to each flower a poetic line of calligraphy associating each plant with a historic or legendary figure. For example, the chrysanthemum, along with the line “The untrammeled joy at the eastern fence,” refers to the poet Tao Yuanming (died AD 427) who enjoyed chrysanthemums at the eastern fence in his garden. The scroll illustrates Wang Guxiang’s mastery of free brushwork, combining light monochrome ink with transparent colors. In his inscription, Wang says he used the “boneless” style without outlines as developed during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). Wang was a native of Changzhou, a city in southeast China known for its rich flora and fauna, and flower-and-bird painting tradition.
Inscriptions
Artist's inscription, signature, and 15 seals. Ink Orchids. Sewn as pendants for the man of worth, swaying quiety, fragrance in the valley. [seal] Hsiao-chu ts'un Peony. Wiping his face, the young gentleman Ho [Ho Yen of Wei, Three Kingdoms] appears to have been powdered. His previous life was the perfume-stealing Han Shou [of Chin, 265–419 CE], the fragrance still lingers. [seal] Ts'un-wu chai. Flowering Crab Apple, New Bamboo. Shao-lin [Du Fu, 712–770] had to put down his brush. [Flowering Crab Apple]. Yü-k'o [Wen T'ung, d. 1079) in vain wrote poems about [Bamboo]. [seal] Yu-shih. Lotus Flowers. When she turns her head, half-hidden by a fan, and casts a glance, all the beautiful women become colorless. [seal] K'ang yüeh huai. Loquat. Ripeness in summer. [seal] Lu-chih. Pomegranate Flower. Whenever I remember you I will send my thoughts, but where have you gone--the [skirt] of pomegranate red? [seal] Wu-ho Sheng. Day Lily. Plant the day lily to forget sorrow. [seal] Yu-shih. Chrysanthemum. The untrammelled joy at the eastern fence. [seal] Lu-chih. Begonia. Comparing it to the beauties of Spring, and spreading them out as trimming for the stone steps. [seal] Yu-shih. Hibiscus. In recent years I have always enjoyed looking at flowers; instead of dark red I preferred pink ones. [seal] Jen-sheng i-lou. Narcissus, Camellia. The jade girdle left behind at Lo River. [Narcissus]. The precious pearls glitter before Spring. [Camellia]. [seal] Lu-chih. Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica). A single branch in the wintry season. [seal] K'ang yüeh huai. Plum. Fragrant snow in the Lo-fou Mountains. [seal] Ts'un-wu chai. In the eleventh lunar month of the hsin-mao year of the Jiaqing era [1531], [I] imitated the boneless style of Yüan masters in sketching from life. Guxiang [seals] Yu-shih; Lu-chih. Translated by Wai-kam Ho/Lingyun Shih Liu (1980); 2 colophons and 23 additional seals: 1 colophon dated 1632, and 2 seals of Li Jih-hua [Li Rihua] 李日華 (1565–1635); 1 colophon and 2 seals of Xiang Shengmo 項聖謨 (1597–1658); 3 seals of Liang Qingbiao 梁清標 (1620–1691); 6 seals of the Jiaqing 嘉慶 emperor (r. 1796–1820); 9 seals of Ch'eng Ch'i [Cheng Qi] 程琦 (1911–1988)
Provenance
?–1977: (Cheng Qi [Ch'eng Ch'i] 程琦 [1911–1988], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1977–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978). Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 13, 2018-February 3, 2019).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Wang Guxiang (Chinese, 1501–1568)
- Date
- 1531
- Medium
- handscroll; ink and light color on silk
- Dimensions
- Painting only: 24 x 545 cm (9 7/16 x 214 9/16 in.); Overall: 24 x 547.5 cm (9 7/16 x 215 9/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1977.4
More by Wang Guxiang in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009922
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