WU CHANGSHUO 吳昌碩 (Huzhou, China, 1844-1927)

Chrysanthemums

Dated 1914

Ink and colour on paper, mounted as a hanging scroll

Artist's colophon with two red seals and one collector's seal

132cm high, 67cm wide

吳昌碩 菊花

1914年作

設色紙本 立軸

款識：九天風露九秋花，老眼模糊視隔紗。絕似憑崖籠翠墨，夕陽影裡拓褒斜。甲寅七月，安吉吳昌碩。

鈐印：「吳俊之印」、「倉碩」

-

PROVENANCE:

UK Private Collection

來源：

英國私人收藏

-

As a leading painter during the early twentieth century, Wu Changshuo (1844-1927) was renowned for rejuvenating the art of painting flowers and birds by introducing an expressive, individualistic style more generally associated with literati painting.

Born to a scholarly family in Huzhou, Zeijiang, Wu Changshuo became an imperial official in Liaoning before the eventual collapse of the Qing Dynasty. He initially dedicated his artistic efforts to poetry and calligraphy, and also led the Xiling Seal Art Society in Hangzhou. In his thirties he began to paint, and it was only later on that he considered himself part of the Shanghai School of painters.

Wu's art is positioned at the intersection of both traditional and modern styles of painting and calligraphy, encapsulating both ancient traditions and innovative modern trends that set his works apart. He favoured the use of bright colours and sharp contrasts in his works, which can be noted from the varied themes in his paintings, including bright floral motifs such as chrysanthemums and wisterias, captured in his favoured style of freehand (daxieyi), often translated as large/monumental freehand style. The present lot depicts a cluster of flowering chrysanthemums highlighted in red, plum and burnt orange. Wu was believed to be one of the first Chinese painters to use yanghong ('Western red') to colour his flowers, and his colourful depictions of fruit and flowers greatly appealed to the emerging urban class in Shanghai.

Today, Wu’s works are housed in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston, and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, among others.

-

Please login or create an account to view/request condition reports