Object details
| Name | The Goddesses of the Xiang River (文徵明湘君湘夫人图轴) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 新00145958 |
| Category | Chinese Paintings (绘画) |
| Period | |
| Collection | The Palace Museum, Beijing |
| Source | Palace Museum Digital Collection (数字文物库) |
A hanging scroll from the Ming dynasty. The Palace Museum holds it among the paintings of its collection, and the image here is reproduced with the museum’s credit.
The Ming revived the court painting academy and, at the same time, let literati painters develop deeply personal styles. Professional and amateur currents ran side by side, and the period’s figure, landscape and bird-and-flower painters set templates copied for centuries.
A hanging scroll is meant to be seen all at once and then stored. Painting here is an occasion, not furniture: a work is mounted for a season and put away, so each viewing is deliberate.
Source: The Palace Museum, Beijing — 数字文物库 (Digital Collection). Artefact no. 新00145958.
Image: © The Palace Museum.