Zhang Da-qian excelled in the genre of flowers. He learned the skills of sketching and painting through his mother and sister from an early age. His paintings were well-acclaimed by his contemporaries as one that resembled classical old masters works. This painting has a classical structure, echoing with the two paintings previously from the Meiyuntang collection, sold at Sotheby's in 2023. It demonstrates the artist's exceptional skills in depicting lotus flowers.
Zhang once promoted the boneless techniques in depicting lotus with strokes that resemble those in calligraphy. The gradation of lotus flowers forms the shape, the bud and curved petals enhancing their 3-dimensional visual impact. The branches rose as a pillar while the strokes of seal script extend downwards with a force creating a sturdy form, decorated with scattered dots. The lotus pod was outlined to highlight its plump form, sketched with red lines of stigma. The composition of lines forms a luscious scene. A broad stroke of light green extends across the painting, followed by rough outlines and layers of green. Such a gradation amplifies the realistic depiction of the plant in the breeze. With a light palette, the lotus pond creates a breezy summer scene enhanced by the juxtaposition of lines and space, and colour against space. A Song poem extract in the painting further accentuates the innocence and romance of the work.