Minneapolis Institute of Art

Swan and Cygnets

After Wu Yuanyu

Date

14th-15th century

Medium

Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

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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