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Flowers and Insects

A work made of handscroll; ink and color on paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of handscroll; ink and color on paper.

Date:

Qing dynasty (1644–1911), reign of Kangxi (1662–1722) 清朝

Artist:

Chai Zhenyi 柴貞儀 and Chai Jingyi 柴靜儀
Chinese, 17th century

About this artwork

This sensitively idyllic glimpse of nature is the collaborative work of two sisters, who resided in east coastal Hangzhou. The city’s mild climate and beautiful scenery attracted generations of intellectual elite. Fostered by that cultural ambience, both sisters became renowned as poets and painters, but their painting styles were quite distinct. Whereas Chai Jingyi specialized in semi-abstract images of nature that affirmed ideals of self-expression, Chai Zhengyi was most renowned for closely observant studies such as this. Depicted together with asters and Asiatic dayflowers, the fruiting wild rose (dog rose) places this scene in the autumn. Inhabiting this vegetation is a variety of graceful insects— the butterfly, mantis, locust, and other grasshoppers. Such creatures denoted the annual passage of seasons in early poetry, and from that literary tradition, became elegant and often allusive subjects of painting.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Artist

Chai Zhenyi

Title

Flowers and Insects

Place

China (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1662–1722

Medium

Handscroll; ink and color on paper

Inscriptions

Artists' inscription: 杭郡女子柴貞儀靜儀合摹於凝香室 [The ladies of Hangjun (Hangzhou) Chai Zhenyi and (Chai) Jingyi copied this together in the Frozen Fragrance Chamber] Artist' seal: 貞靜合同 Collectors' seals: 青芝山房寶藏

Dimensions

27.9 × 430.6 cm (169 1/2 × 10 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Samuel M. Nickerson Fund

Reference Number

1954.104

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/80215/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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