The Pleasures of the Peony in Chinese Art March 27, 2012

A talk by U-M History of Art alumna and Hong Kong University professor Roslyn Hammers on the various facets of the Song-dynasty peony. The appreciation of the peony has an extensive history in Chinese art and literature. The temptations of the flower, long associated with feminine seductiveness, compelled poets to write poems extolling its sensuous charms.

This presentation explores varying facets of the Song-dynasty peony as presented in paintings, poetry, and prose in order to reclaim the complexities it evoked as well as to consider the anxieties the peony inspired.

Sponsored by U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, U-M Museum of Art, U-M History of Art, U-M Center for Chinese Studies, and U-M Confucius Institute. Discussion held at Helmut Stern Auditorium in the U-M Museum of Art. Free.

Official Website: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/