Artwork
清 仿惲壽平 桂花圖 冊頁|Cassia Tree
清 仿惲壽平 桂花圖 冊頁|Cassia Tree is an ink painting by the Baroque artist Yun Shouping. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
No symbolic attributes are recorded in the source documentation; the composition is valued for its delicate brushwork and botanical detail.
Rendered in ink and color on a single album leaf in 1777, this work depicts a cassia tree as its central motif, executed in imitation of the seventeenth-century master Yun Shouping (the title notes it is 'after Yun Shouping'). The painting belongs to the landscape genre and was produced in China before entering the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The depicted cassia tree functions as the sole visual subject, emphasizing the natural form without additional narrative elements.
No symbolic attributes are recorded in the source documentation; the composition is valued for its delicate brushwork and botanical detail.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1777, this album leaf employs ink and color on paper as its primary medium. The work measures 20.6 cm in height and 30.5 cm in width. Stylistically, the piece is a landscape composition centered on the depiction of a tree, created in imitation of the artist Yun Shouping.
Although attributed to Yun Shouping in some records, other descriptions identify the creator as an anonymous painter working within the Chinese tradition. The handling of the medium reflects the conventions of Qing dynasty album painting, utilizing colored pigments alongside ink to render the botanical subject.
History & Provenance
The album leaf titled Cassia Tree is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work is catalogued as part of the museum's holdings of Chinese paintings from the Qing dynasty, though the specific inventory or accession number is not disclosed in the available documentation. No exhibition records are cited for this piece in the sources examined.
The painting dates to 1777 and measures 20.6 cm in height by 30.5 cm in width, executed in the style of the seventeenth‑century Chinese artist Yun Shouping.
Overview
This album leaf, executed in ink and color on paper in 1777, presents a modest cassia tree with pale yellow blossoms and slender, winding branches. The work is rendered on a soft, thin sheet typical of Chinese painting albums, offering a quiet, intimate view of a single tree within a minimal compositional space.
Context
Album leaves like this were common among scholar‑artists who sought to preserve and honor earlier artistic models. By emulating Yun Shouping’s light, naturalistic approach, the creator aligns himself with a lineage that valued refined brushwork and the understated beauty of everyday subjects, reflecting broader Qing aesthetic values.
Artist & collection
Artist
Yun Shouping (Chinese: 惲壽平; 1633 – 1690), also known as Nantian (Chinese: 南田), was a Chinese calligrapher and painter.
