Artwork
清 任薰 海棠小鳥 扇面|Bird on a Rock by a Flowering Branch
清 任薰 海棠小鳥 扇面|Bird on a Rock by a Flowering Branch is an ink painting by the Impressionist artist Ren Xun. It dates from 1879 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 1986.267.46
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on the interaction between the avian figure and the blossoms, identified in the record as a bird and a flower.
Created in 1879, this folding fan painting by Ren Xun depicts a bird perched near a flowering branch. The composition centers on the interaction between the avian figure and the blossoms, identified in the record as a bird and a flower. While the work is catalogued under the landscape genre, its primary iconography focuses on these specific natural elements rather than a broad topographical scene.
The imagery presents a quiet moment of nature, highlighting the relationship between the creature and the flora without additional narrative context provided in the available records.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1879, the work is a folding fan mounted as an album leaf, combining ink and color on alum paper. The artist rendered a bird perched on a rock beside a flowering branch, employing fine, controlled brushwork to articulate plumage and petals with delicate washes and precise ink lines. The composition unfolds horizontally along the fan’s curved support, exploiting the format’s asymmetry to guide the viewer’s eye across the slender rock and blooming branch.
Stylistically, the painting adheres to the refined, scholarly manner cultivated in late Qing literati circles, balancing descriptive detail with restrained elegance.
History & Provenance
Ren Xun painted this fan, Bird on a Rock by a Flowering Branch, in 1879, working in ink and color on alum paper as a folding fan leaf later mounted as an album leaf. The work was created in China during the late Qing dynasty. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No specific accession number, credit line, acquisition details, or exhibition history is provided in the available sources.
Overview
Created in 1879 by the late Qing dynasty artist Ren Xun, this work depicts a small bird perched on a rock beside a flowering branch, likely a begonia. Executed in ink and color on alum paper, the piece was originally a folding fan before being remounted as an album leaf. Ren Xun, a prominent figure of the Shanghai School, utilized the specific properties of alum paper to prevent ink bleeding, allowing for precise control over the delicate washes of soft pink and green that define the leaves and petals.
The composition balances the detailed rendering of the flora with the bird, which is rendered through a few swift, confident brushstrokes, demonstrating the artist's mastery of both meticulous detail and expressive economy. This work exemplifies the genre of flower-and-bird painting within the Shanghai School tradition, which often blended academic rigor with a fresh, accessible aesthetic. The format reflects the dual function of such objects in the late 19th century: designed for intimate, handheld viewing rather than public display, yet frequently preserved by collectors as standalone album leaves.
The piece stands as a representative example of Ren Xun's ability to infuse traditional subjects with vitality and technical refinement during a period of significant artistic innovation in China.
Artist & collection
