Who painted Bird Sleeping on a Plum Tree?

Bird Sleeping on a Plum Tree was painted by Yang Ki-hun (Seuk-Eun) in 1904.

Where can I see Bird Sleeping on a Plum Tree?

Bird Sleeping on a Plum Tree is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is Bird Sleeping on a Plum Tree?

Bird Sleeping on a Plum Tree is associated with Korean Minhwa.

Artwork

Bird Sleeping on a Plum Tree

Yang Ki-hun (Seuk-Eun) , 1904

Bird Sleeping on a Plum Tree is an unspecified painting by the Korean Minhwa artist Yang Ki-hun (Seuk-Eun). It dates from 1904 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. A delicate painting depicts a small bird resting on a bare plum branch, rendered in soft black ink on plain paper.

Accession no.: 1998.31
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund

About this work

The painting is part of a tradition called the Four Gentlemen, plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, each standing for a virtue.

A small bird dozes on a bare plum branch, its head tucked under one wing. The branch curves like a question mark, inked in soft black against plain paper.

Plum trees were a quiet code for scholars who wanted to stay pure in a messy world. This bird, head down, might show how the artist felt as Korea’s old order crumbled. The painting is part of a tradition called the Four Gentlemen, plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, each standing for a virtue.

To see more of this quiet, coded art, look up Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910).

Overview

A delicate painting depicts a small bird resting on a bare plum branch, rendered in soft black ink on plain paper.

Subject & Meaning

The plum tree and the bird convey a sense of literati spirituality and the artist's feelings about the turmoil at the end of the Joseon period, with the plum symbolizing purity and the bird's posture suggesting unease.

Technique & Style

The branch is inked in a soft, expressive style, curving like a question mark against the plain background, characteristic of the literati painting tradition.

Context

The plum is part of the Four Gentlemen motif, a group of plants symbolizing virtues, and was often depicted in Korean paintings as a symbol of the literati's pure spirit.

History & Provenance

The painting is the work of Yang Ki-hun, a Korean scholar-official known for his painting and calligraphy, who was patronized by King Gojong.