Cockatoo

Chen Shu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Born into a gentry family in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, Chen Shu was one of the few women in premodern China to earn a reputation as a painter. Most of Chen's extant works are landscape paintings in the literati manner, but she also created flower and bird images such as this one, which follows the more meticulous descriptive style practiced by Song and Ming dynasty court artists. In 1721 Chen's son, Qian Chenqun (1686–1774), earned his jinshi (presented scholar) degree and received an appointment to the Hanlin Academy in the capital. He subsequently brought his mother, already a widow for three years, to Beijing, where this work was painted.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art