A magpie on a blossoming branch fill this Chinese scroll painting, and it settles into a space the moment it goes up. The magpie has always been a favorite subject, and you can see why — it carries the whole scroll. Around the main subject, blue, tree trunk and colorful gongbi fill out the scene without crowding it.
As a colorful gongbi magpie painting, it sits comfortably alongside much older pieces without feeling like a copy. Like much classical Chinese art, it carries a wish inside the image — the magpie announces good news — its name is a pun on happiness. The coloring is soft blues and lively, varied color, in the mineral-pigment manner that ages gracefully. Stand back and the whole holds together; step close and blue rewards the visit. The silk mounting is its frame, in effect — traditional, complete, and ready for the wall.
Hung straight from its cord with no frame required, it brings a calm focal point to whatever wall it meets. A magpie silk wall art like this brings a settled, scholarly feeling to any room.
