Minneapolis Institute of Art
Swan and Cygnets
After Wu YuanyuLinkedCulture matchlcp-e94326eedeb9
- Date
- 14th-15th century
- Medium
- Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
- Department
- Asian Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 1498
From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record
By the Song dynasty (960-1280), the Chinese had perfected a pictorial art form called huaniao (flower-and-bird painting). Chinese artists combined a highly descriptive approach to rendering plants and animals with themes that had psychological implications. Based on a composition by the 11th-century artist Wu Yuanyu, this carefully executed painting of a swan and cygnets forms a pair with another scroll of the same subject matter. The compositions express a psychological bond between parent and child that is emblematic of the traditional Confucian value of family unity. Large, paired paintings such as these were commonly hung in the reception halls of aristocratic homes as well as palaces during the early Ming period. China, Asia
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Gift of Miss Alice O'Brien
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