Artwork

Album of Landscape Paintings Illustrating Old Poems: Two Women with Needlework in a Garden

Album of Landscape Paintings Illustrating Old Poems: Two Women with Needlework in a Garden is an unspecified painting by the Baroque artist Hua Yan. It dates from 1745 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

This painting is part of an album of landscape paintings illustrating old poems, depicting two women engaged in needlework within a garden room.

Subject & Meaning

The scene contrasts the women's indoor confinement with the outdoor natural world, visible through a large moon-shaped window, where a distinctive Taihu stone is prominently displayed.

Technique & Style

The painting showcases a characteristic Chinese cultural element, the Taihu stone, valued for its naturally occurring shapes and perforations, often used as a sculptural element in gardens.

Context

The album's other eleven paintings feature men in natural settings, highlighting a contrast between the genders' relationships with the outdoors.

Artist & collection

Artist

Hua Yan

Hua Yan simplified Chinese: 华嵒; traditional Chinese: 華嵒; pinyin: Huà Yán; Wade–Giles: Hua Yen; courtesy name Qiu Yue (秋岳), sobriquets Xinluo Shanren (新罗山人), Dong Yuan Sheng (东园生), Buyi Sheng (布衣生), Ligou Jushi (离垢居士)and…