Who painted 明/清陳洪綬山水人物花卉圖冊|Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers?

明/清陳洪綬山水人物花卉圖冊|Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers was painted by Chen Hongshou in 1620.

Where can I see 明/清陳洪綬山水人物花卉圖冊|Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers?

明/清陳洪綬山水人物花卉圖冊|Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is 明/清陳洪綬山水人物花卉圖冊|Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers?

明/清陳洪綬山水人物花卉圖冊|Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

明/清陳洪綬山水人物花卉圖冊|Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers

Chen Hongshou , 1620

明/清陳洪綬山水人物花卉圖冊|Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers is an ink painting by the Baroque artist Chen Hongshou. It dates from 1620 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

The colors are mostly muted—soft grays, blues, and browns—with just a hint of green near the ground.

This painting shows a bare tree with twisted branches beside a crumbling stone wall. The background has faint mountains and a small hut. The colors are mostly muted—soft grays, blues, and browns—with just a hint of green near the ground.

The artist signed the work in 1618–22, using ink and light color on paper. Notice how the tree’s branches look almost skeletal, while the wall feels weathered and old.

Look up cross-hatching next to see how artists build texture with layered lines.

Overview

Chen Hongshou's Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers is an album comprising twelve distinct paintings, executed with ink and light colors on paper. Created between 1618 and 1622, this collection showcases the artist's engagement with traditional Chinese artistic themes. The album format allows for a varied exploration of natural scenery, human figures, and botanical subjects, reflecting the diverse interests characteristic of the period's scholarly art.

Subject & Meaning

One notable composition within the album features a stark, bare tree with dramatically twisted branches, standing adjacent to a crumbling stone wall. In the background, faint mountain contours and a modest hut suggest a remote, perhaps introspective, setting. This imagery frequently appears in traditional Chinese art, often symbolizing resilience, the transient nature of human endeavors, and the enduring power of the natural world.

Technique & Style

The artwork is rendered using ink and subtle applications of color on paper, resulting in a predominantly muted palette. Tones of soft gray, blue, and brown prevail, with a slight hint of green near the base of the composition. Chen Hongshou's distinctive style is evident in the almost skeletal appearance of the tree's branches and the weathered texture of the stone wall, conveying a sense of age and fragility.