1685
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Herbaceous Peony is a 1685 unspecified by Yun Shouping, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a single peony flower in soft ink on paper—petals loose, leaves curling, stem bent as if caught in a breeze. This flower wasn’t just pretty. After the Ming dynasty fell, artists like Yun Shouping used peonies to stand for old loyalties. The peony, called the “king of flowers,” became a quiet protest. To see how others painted coded blooms, look up *subject: china, qing dynasty (1644-1911)*.
Yun Shouping came from Piling (modern Changzhou), Jiangsu province, a center of floral, plant, and insect painting. He had joined the anti-Manchu resistance, was briefly imprisoned, and witnessed the death of family members in 1644. Like other artists, Yun Shouping expressed his Ming loyalism in coded pictures. The peony, king of flowers, and a spring garden motif developed new meaning during the Qing dynasty. The inscription indicates that Yun turns the flower into a motif representing the glorious past. The herbaceous peonies here appear somewhat withered and pale, with faint reddish veins…
In East Asian art, peonies traditionally symbolize prosperity and wealth.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Yun Shouping (Chinese: 惲壽平; 1633 – 1690), also known as Nantian (Chinese: 南田), was a Chinese calligrapher and painter.
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