Flowers and Birds

Yu  Sheng  Zengsan  Luting,  18th  Century,  Qing  Dynasty
Hanging  scroll,  colour  on  silk,  175cm  by  50cm.

Yu   Sheng    was   a  court   painter  of   the  Qianlong  reign   (1735 -
1795).   That  was  the  period   when  the  presence  of   Jesuit  artists
from    Europe   in    the   imperial    court    had    their   influence   on
Chinese  paintings.

The  painting  shows  aquatic  plants  in  the  foreground,  both  on  the
surface  of   the   water  or  submerged.    The   left   two-thirds  of   the
scroll    is   predominted    by    the   lotus   blossoms,    painted   in   an
elaborately   naturalistic   manner  in   fine   brushwork   and   colour,
creating  a  three-dimensional   effect,   rare  in   traditional   Chinese
painting.