Plum blossoms

Jin Nong

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jin Nong started painting plum blossoms in 1756 at the age of sixty-nine. This monochrome album was reportedly painted during a six-week stay at Luo Ping's home in Yangzhou in 1757. Jin Nong's innovative plum paintings are poised between representation and abstraction. The images range from the exuberance of lacy blossom-laden boughs to the restrained elegance of a single budding branch. There is a graphic quality to Jin Nong's compositions, achieved through a tight interlocking of painted image, calligraphy, and seals. His poetic inscriptions, written in his typically exact, vigorous manner, not only deepen the meaning of his imagery, but also act as graphic motifs that further animate each composition.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art