Garden Flowers

Garden Flowers

Chen Chun

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Following Shen Zhou’s (1427–1509) example of treating still-life painting as uninhibited “ink plays,” Chen Chun strove to turn his flower paintings into spontaneous “idea writings.” Realistic flower paintings had been a popular subject since at least the tenth century, and Chen Chun was perhaps the greatest exponent of this genre in his time. This album, with a rich variety of spring blossoms, treats flowers not merely as botanical specimens but also as inevitable reminders of the brevity of life, beauty, and material existence.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Garden FlowersGarden FlowersGarden FlowersGarden FlowersGarden Flowers

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.