Spring Dawn in the Han Palace (detail: the peacocks)

What you see

On the left, a pavilion with red lattice walls and an ornate roof fills almost half the scene. At the window, a lady leans out between two attendants holding tall blue fans, while another peers from behind a door. In the courtyard, two peacocks head to the right, where a lady in red sleeves, two others by the railing and a child watch them.

The broad, empty gold of the courtyard gives the figures room to breathe. The latticework, the green and blue eaves and the peacocks’ feathers are rendered in minute detail. Notice the flowering plum tree in its large carved planter and the child in green stretching up at the railing.