Artwork
明 佚名 (傳)馬麟 雪梅圖 團扇|Snow Plum
明 佚名 (傳)馬麟 雪梅圖 團扇|Snow Plum is an ink painting by the Ming dynasty painting artist After Ma Lin. It dates from 1120 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This small, round fan painting, executed on silk with ink, presents a solitary plum branch bending across the surface.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Rendered in ink on silk as an album leaf, it reflects the stylistic conventions of Chinese painting associated with the follower Ma Lin.
The painting presents a single snow plum blossom, identified as a flower in the work’s descriptive data. Rendered in ink on silk as an album leaf, it reflects the stylistic conventions of Chinese painting associated with the follower Ma Lin. The depiction of this delicate flower forms the central subject, a motif traditionally linked to resilience and subtle beauty in Chinese visual culture, though the work’s meaning is conveyed chiefly through its formal execution and anonymous authorship. The piece belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection and was produced in China.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in ink on silk, applied with delicate brushwork to a round fan support measuring 24.3 cm in height and 25.4 cm in width. Its composition centers on a snow-laden plum branch rendered with subtle tonal gradations and fine, calligraphic line to convey both texture and volume.
The style reflects the refined academic manner associated with Ma Lin’s circle, employing controlled wet-on-wet ink washes for atmospheric recession and sharp, angular strokes to articulate the plum’s bare branches and swelling buds. Handling emphasizes linear precision and tonal modulation rather than heavy pigment, preserving the translucency of the silk ground.
History & Provenance
The work titled Snow Plum, also known as 花鸣, is an album leaf painted in ink on silk. It is attributed to an anonymous follower of Ma Lin and classified as a landscape painting depicting a flower. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the piece entered the museum’s collection and has remained in its custody since acquisition.
The work was produced in China, measures 24.3 cm by 25.4 cm, and exemplifies the stylistic influence of Ma Lin’s school while maintaining its own anonymous authorship. Its creation reflects the tradition of album leaf paintings in Ming‑era Chinese art.
The album leaf known as Snow Plum is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work, attributed to the style of Ma Lin, is an ink painting on silk depicting floral subjects within a landscape context.
Physical records indicate the piece measures 24.3 cm in height and 25.4 cm in width. While the object is cataloged within the museum's holdings, the provided sources do not list a specific accession number or detail any past exhibition history for this specific fan painting.
Context
The work titled Snow Plum, attributed to an anonymous follower of the Southern Song master Ma Lin, exemplifies the lyrical treatment of botanical subjects in Chinese ink painting. Executed as an album leaf in ink on silk, the composition measures 24.3 cm by 25.4 cm and portrays a solitary plum blossom against a minimal background. Its depiction of a flower aligns with the genre of landscape and botanical motifs that dominated elite visual culture in pre modern China.
The piece entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued as a painting by an anonymous painter, underscoring scholarly interest in the transmission of Ma Lin's stylistic legacy among unnamed workshop artists.
Overview
This small, round fan painting, executed on silk with ink, presents a solitary plum branch bending across the surface. The blossoms appear lightly dusted with snow, creating a delicate contrast between the dark ink and the pale background. The work is dated to the early twelfth century and is attributed, though not signed, to the hand of Ma Lin, a noted court painter of the period.
Artist & collection
Artist
After Ma Lin is a cataloguing designation rather than a personal name. It identifies a work made in the manner of, or as a copy after, the Chinese painter Ma Lin, who was active in the Southern Song dynasty in the…
