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

Gourds

Dated 1921

A study of fruiting gourds sprouting from curling leafy vines

Ink and colour on paper, mounted as a hanging scroll

Artist's colophon and two red seals

174cm high, 47cm wide

吳昌碩 葫蘆

1921年作

設色紙本 立軸

款識：依樣。辛酉十月。七十八歲吳昌碩。

鈐印：「吳俊之印」、「倉碩」

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PROVENANCE:

Property of a Gentleman, UK Private Collection

來源：

士紳珍藏，英國私人收藏

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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 favorite subjects were bold, colourful depictions of flowers, fruits and rocks, which appealed to the new urban class in Shanghai. The artist proved himself adept at presenting gourds’ morphological characteristics and cultural connotations through the medium of freehand brushworks.

The present lot depicts ripe gourds hanging from leafy stems. The word for gourd is homophonic with prosperity and many blessings, bestowing the imagery with auspicious connotations. 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.

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