Who painted 明/清陳洪綬橅古圖冊|Miscellaneous Studies?

明/清陳洪綬橅古圖冊|Miscellaneous Studies was painted by Chen Hongshou in one leaf dated 1619.

Where can I see 明/清陳洪綬橅古圖冊|Miscellaneous Studies?

明/清陳洪綬橅古圖冊|Miscellaneous Studies is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is 明/清陳洪綬橅古圖冊|Miscellaneous Studies?

明/清陳洪綬橅古圖冊|Miscellaneous Studies is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

明/清陳洪綬橅古圖冊|Miscellaneous Studies

Chen Hongshou , 1619

明/清陳洪綬橅古圖冊|Miscellaneous Studies is an ink painting by the Baroque artist Chen Hongshou. It dates from 1619 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Accession no.: 2005.112a–l
Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Wan-go H. C. Weng, 2005

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting’s iconography is limited to the plant form itself, without additional symbolic attributes noted in the sources.

The album leaf titled Miscellaneous Studies, painted by Chen Hongshou in 1619, features a botanical subject. The depicted plant is rendered in ink on paper, characteristic of album paintings from the Ming‑Qing period. While the precise species is not identified in the available documentation, the work belongs to the still‑life genre and reflects the era’s interest in natural observation.

The painting’s iconography is limited to the plant form itself, without additional symbolic attributes noted in the sources.

Technique & Style

The work is an album consisting of twelve individual leaves executed in ink on paper. Each leaf measures 17.8 cm by 17.8 cm. One specific leaf within the series bears a date of 1619. The compositions focus on still-life subjects, primarily depicting plants. As an album format, the medium allows for distinct, self-contained studies rather than a continuous narrative scroll.

History & Provenance

The album titled Miscellaneous Studies was produced in China by Chen Hongshou in the early seventeenth century; one leaf bears the date 1619, establishing its creation period. It comprises twelve ink paintings on paper, classified as a still-life genre. The work is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, catalogued under accession numbers 2005.112a–l, which it entered in 2005.

Overview

Chen Hongshou’s album of twelve ink paintings, dated 1619, presents a modest still‑life composition. Executed on paper, the work features a gnarled tree branch, a stone, and a handful of bamboo leaves rendered in monochrome ink.

Context

In the broader context of Ming literati art, such ink studies served both as exercises in calligraphic brushwork and as meditative engagements with nature. Chen Hongshou, known for his detailed figure work, applied the same meticulous approach to these botanical subjects.

Legacy

The album exemplifies the understated elegance of early‑modern Chinese ink studies and continues to inform contemporary understandings of brush control and the expressive potential of monochrome media.