Camellia Garden — 牡丹

"Camellia Garden" (牡丹, botan — actually indicating peony rather than camellia, suggesting the Japanese title specifies peonies) from 1898 depicts a flowering garden scene combining women or children with the spectacular blooms of the garden peony, one of the most lavish of Japanese garden flowers. The peony's opulent, layered blossoms provided Shuntei with rich material for the kacho-ga (flower painting) tradition while the presence of human figures gave the composition its social and narrative dimension. The 1898 date places this in the height of Shuntei's most productive period.