Plum Blossoms

Colors in this work

Artist: Wen Zhi
Date: dated 1670
Medium: Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on gold paper
Dimensions: 6 1/2 x 19 3/4 in. (16.5 x 50.2 cm)
Origin: China
Department: Asian Art
Holding institution: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Palette: Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #C2A075 · 46%

Linen Gesso · White family · #F2E4D2 · 43%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #DAB78B · 4%

Raw Walnut · Brown family · #5F4C3C · 2%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #887054 · 2%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #A68760 · 2%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #E4C39A · 1%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #CC9460 · <1%

Etching Plate Gray · Gray family · #423B42 · <1%

Apricot Plaster · Orange family · #F3D7B2 · <1%

Raw Ochre Field · Yellow family · #CA9942 · <1%

Limestone Dust · Gray family · #CABFB5 · <1%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #BB8F80 · <1%

Golden Bole · Yellow family · #969576 · <1%

Plaster Rose · Pink family · #BC9B97 · <1%

Aged Vellum · Yellow family · #F9D69F · <1%

Aged Vellum · Yellow family · #EDEED5 · <1%

Laurel Cloth · Green family · #5B6F57 · <1%

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Image provider: metropolitan-museum-of-art
License: CC0-1.0
Credit: John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913

9 tags

Flora Both · 99%

The work is titled “Plum Blossoms,” is cataloged under Flowers, and visibly depicts flowering branches with clustered blossoms.
Text Visual · 98%

A substantial inscription in Chinese characters and several red seal marks are clearly visible on the right side of the fan.

Earth Tones Visual · 87%

The composition is dominated by ocher-gold, brown, muted green, black, and small vermilion accents.
Linear Forms Visual · 92%

The branches are articulated through prominent dark strokes of varied thickness and direction.

East Asian Calligraphy Visual · 93%

The visible inscription uses expressive brush-written characters accompanied by red seals, consistent with East Asian calligraphic practice.
Album, Folio and Fan Formats Both · 100%

The Metropolitan Museum of Art classifies the work as a folding fan mounted as an album leaf, and the image clearly shows the curved fan format with radiating folds.
Painting Both · 99%

The catalog identifies the work as a painting in ink and color on gold paper; the image shows ink brushwork and colored blossoms on a gold-toned ground.

17th Century Art Metadata · 100%

The work is dated 1670, placing it in the seventeenth century.

Chinese Art Metadata · 100%

The Metropolitan Museum of Art records China as the place of origin.

Wen Zhi. Plum Blossoms. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.