Gathering Osmanthus
1766
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1766
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Gathering Osmanthus is a 1766 by Unknown, a Baroque work, depicting Qianlong Reign, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two women in long robes standing under a tree full of tiny white flowers. This painting was made as a cheap, mass-produced print—like a poster—during China’s Qianlong reign. Most art from this time was for the rich, but prints like this hung in ordinary homes. The tree is osmanthus, a flower that smells sweet and symbolizes good luck. To see more art from this time, look up *qing dynasty (1644–1911)*.
In the 1600s, printing flourished in such Jiangnan cities as Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Huizhou, evolving from privately enjoyed illustrated books printed in color to more commercialized single-sheet color prints that were hung on walls and became part of the rich urban visual culture.
Woodblock printing in color reached a height in China in the 1600s to 1700s. The prints were executed by means of sets of separate blocks, each carved to print a different color.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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