Artwork
清 佚名 明宣宗(僞款) 唐苑嬉春圖 卷|Spring Play in a Tang Garden

清 佚名 明宣宗(僞款) 唐苑嬉春圖 卷|Spring Play in a Tang Garden is an ink painting by the Baroque artist After Xuanzong. It dates from 1749 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The handscroll titled Spring Play in a Tang Garden is an anonymous work from 1749, rendered in ink and color on silk.
- Accession no.
- 47.18.9
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The handscroll titled "Spring Play in a Tang Garden" portrays a bird and a cat within a garden setting, reflecting a leisurely spring scene from the Tang period. The depiction of these animals is part of the composition's effort to capture the playful atmosphere of a Tang garden, emphasizing natural elements and the harmonious interaction among its inhabitants. The work, dated 1749 and attributed to an anonymous painter after Xuanzong, is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and exemplifies a landscape genre popular in Chinese painting.
Technique & Style
The composition is classified as a landscape, populated with figural and animal motifs including birds and cats, rendered in polychrome ink on the silk ground.
Spring Play in a Tang Garden is executed as a handscroll in ink and color on silk, a traditional format and support pairing for Chinese painted scrolls. The work measures 37.5 by 264.2 centimeters, a long horizontal format consistent with the handscroll convention that allows sequential viewing as the painting is unrolled.
Stylistically, the painting is attributed to an anonymous artist working after Xuanzong, with the imperial Xuande-period inscription presented as a later false signature. The composition is classified as a landscape, populated with figural and animal motifs including birds and cats, rendered in polychrome ink on the silk ground.
History & Provenance
The handscroll Spring Play in a Tang Garden is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work, dated to 1749, is cataloged as a painting by an anonymous artist depicting birds and cats. The provided sources do not list a specific inventory or accession number for the object, nor do they record any exhibition history or past display locations for this specific scroll.
Overview
The handscroll titled Spring Play in a Tang Garden is an anonymous work from 1749, rendered in ink and color on silk. This painting depicts a vibrant garden scene, populated by various birds and numerous cats amidst blossoming trees. It presents a lively, yet serene, tableau of nature and animal interaction within an imagined historical setting.
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