Gusu Beauties of the Four Seasons – Spring
1766
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1766
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Gusu Beauties of the Four Seasons – Spring is a 1766 by Unknown, a Baroque work, depicting Qianlong Period, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a woman in a pale green robe standing under pink blossoms, a small bird perched on her finger. This print was made in Suzhou, a city where artists turned book illustrations into wall art. People bought them to decorate their homes—like posters today. The bird and flowers aren’t just pretty; they stand for spring and good luck. Look up more about the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) to see how these prints fit into daily life.
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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