A Collection of Lively Sketches [Of Flowers and Insects] of the Ming Dynasty (Minchō shiken) : [volume 3]

Ōoka, Shunboku, 1680-1763 · 1746 · Japan : [producer not identified] · 10 pictures

A Collection of Lively Sketches of Flowers and Insects of the Ming Dynasty, volume 3, was published in Japan in 1746 by Ōoka Shunboku (1680-1763), a painter who adapted Chinese flower-painting models for Japanese readers and fellow artists. The pages are painted botanical studies of flowers, buds and foliage, each with a short inscribed poem or caption in the margin, set on plain paper with generous spacing. A designer might take their loose, economical brushwork and the arrangement of single blooms, sprigs and rocks on open ground as a model for botanical borders, spot illustrations, or hand-painted pattern work.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library