Enjoying Pomegranate and Hollyhock Flowers

Gao Jian, a native of Suzhou in south-central China, was admired for his poetry and paintings. He was only twenty-eight years old when he painted this work, which although casual in tone, possesses a delicacy witnessed in his light, fluid brushwork, and richly nuanced palette. Stylistically the painting relates to works by other artists of the time, including the literati painter Xiang Shengmo (1597-1658).

The artist's inscription gives the date of the painting as the holiday Duanwu in the year 1662. Duanwu is an important festival in the traditional Chinese calendar that occurs on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (which usually corresponds to early to mid-June). It is said to be the most pernicious day of the year, when the sultry heat brings out poisonous creatures and evil. The bright red pomegranate flowers that bloom in the summer season, seen here in the mid-ground, are said, by virtue of their auspicious color, to ward off evil. The loosely clad figure in the painting, who no doubt seeks a streamside breeze, enjoys these holiday flowers with a jar of wine at his side to augment the day's celebratory mood.