Birds and plum-blossoms in the snow
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1918.3
Tags
About this artwork
To 1918
Art Historical Context
**Birds and Plum-Blossoms in the Snow** This delicate painting, dated to the Ming dynasty (1368–4), captures the serene beauty of birds perched amid plum blossoms blanketed in snow. Once attributed to the Southern Song master Ma Lin (active early to mid-13th century), renowned for his exquisite bird-and-flower compositions, it reflects the enduring tradition of Chinese nature painting. Though reattributed to a later Ming artist, the work embodies the refined aesthetic of literati art, where subtle brushwork evokes harmony between wildlife and the winter landscape. In Chinese culture, plum bl...