Artwork
明 佚名 南瓜 扇面|Squash
明 佚名 南瓜 扇面|Squash is an ink painting by the Chinese Orthodox School artist After Zhao Chang. It dates from 1120 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This small fan‑painting from the early Ming period portrays a single squash set against an unadorned background.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's catalogue records the work as depicting fruit, with dimensions of 20.
The painting presents a squash rendered in ink and color on silk as an album leaf. It is classified as a still life and was produced in China, likely by an artist after Zhao Chang. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's catalogue records the work as depicting fruit, with dimensions of 20.6 cm by 23.8 cm, and notes its inclusion in the museum's collection. The composition isolates the squash against a plain background, emphasizing its form and texture.
Technique & Style
The work is rendered in ink and color on silk, using an album-leaf format typically associated with Ming-dynasty scholar-amateur practice. The handling favors delicate, controlled brushwork to define the squash's rounded form and subtle gradations of shading, while thin, fluid ink lines articulate surface texture and stalk details. The composition's restraint and muted palette align with Ming still-life conventions, emphasizing naturalistic observation within a refined, understated aesthetic.
The support measures 20.6 cm in height by 23.8 cm in width, consistent with the modest scale of fan-mounted album leaves intended for intimate viewing.
History & Provenance
The album leaf Squash is attributed to an anonymous painter of the Ming dynasty, working in the fruit-focused still-life manner associated with Zhao Chang's circle. Executed in ink and color on silk in China, it depicts a squash and measures 20.6 cm in height by 23.8 cm in width. The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art among its holdings of Chinese paintings.
A specific creation date is not recorded; its stylistic placement situates it within the Ming period (1368-1644). No documented commission, early ownership, or exhibition history is recorded in the available sources.
Overview
This small fan‑painting from the early Ming period portrays a single squash set against an unadorned background. Executed on silk using ink and subtle colour washes, the work measures only a few centimeters, typical of album leaf formats that were often collected for personal enjoyment.
Artist & collection
