Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986
Bird on a Rock by a Flowering Branch is an artwork by the Chinese Artist Ren Xun, created during the Qing Dynasty in 1879. Painted with ink on a paper folding fan leaf, the artwork depicts a small bird perched on an ornamental garden rock on one foot, while a flowering crabapple branch can be seen next to the bird. With the stillness of the rock, the slow growth of the tree, and the swiftness of the bird, the subjects of the artwork create an interesting contrast in dynamism when positioned together in a single frame.
Ren’s artistic process draws upon Southern Song Imperial Painting Academy’s realistic painting style, merging graded colour washes with fine contour lines that outline details such as the ridges of the leaf or the feathers of the bird. The meticulous artistic process produces a naturalistic image, and reflects the artist’s keen observation of nature.
Ren is a member of a group known as the Four Rens, who, during the latter half of the 19th century, practised Shanghai's most popular mode of painting. The other three members include Ren Xun’s older brother Ren Xiong, Ren Xun’s nephew Ren Yu, as well as Ren Xun’s student Ren Yi, who went on to become one of the most renowned artists of Shanghai during that century.
This artwork was gifted by Robert Hatfield Ellsworth to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is currently located.
Bird on a Rock by a Flowering Branch exemplifies Ren Xun’s ability to unite natural realism, compositional elegance, and poetic restraint. The painting transforms an ordinary moment of avian stillness into a refined meditation on balance, fragility, and harmony within nature.
