The Pure Whiteness of Winter

Xu Jing Chinese

Not on view

Flowering through snow and cold, plum blossoms are popular symbols of court beauties and of reclusion; as such, they embody romance, tears, lost loves, and the eternal return of springtime. Xu Jing entitled his painting The Pure Whiteness of Winter, partaking of a tradition of imagery in poetry and painting that goes back one thousand years.

The Pure Whiteness of Winter, Xu Jing (Chinese, active first half 15th century), Hanging scroll; ink on silk, China

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painting