Blossoms

Blossoms seem to burst out of their surrounding leaves, their supporting branches curving to follow the circular shape of the fan. This creates space on the right for the artist’s inscription, which references a couple riding into the red clouds of the heavens on a phoenix. Are the red blossoms the clouds, and the purple flower at the top a phoenix? With his lively brushwork and bold use of color, Wú Chāngshuò’s expressive flower and bird paintings were particularly popular in Shanghai’s art market at a time of rising commercial culture in the city. A leading figure in the Shanghai School, Wú was initially known for his seal carving and calligraphy, and did not begin his career as a professional painter until his middle age.

Wú Chāngshuò’s paintings are known for their distinct brushstrokes, deliberately disciplined and animated at the same time. They often contain a vigor and strength that distinguish themselves from paintings by Wu’s contemporaries of the Shanghai School. This is often attributed to the artist’s practice of calligraphy and seal-carving, revealing an artistic legacy from earlier Yangzhou School flower painters, such as Lǐ Shàn nearby, who first integrated seal-script calligraphic elements into the brushwork of flower painting.

INSCRIPTION: BLOSSOMS
雙飛月下騎鸞女，曾染紅雲在指頭。
又录元人句
雨生八兄雅属
安吉吴俊卿
Once under the moonlight, [Nòngyù] rode on a phoenix, entering the celestial realm surrounded with red clouds.*
Again [ I ] recorded this verse from Yuan Dynasty.
Dedicated to the eighth brother Yǔshēng.
Wú Jùnqīng (Wú Chāngshuò) of Ānjí
* Nòngyù 弄玉 is a legendary figure, purportedly the daughter of Duke Mù of Qin (秦穆公, died 621 BC). Scenes of Nòngyù and her husband riding a phoenix to the heavens were a popular motif for fan paintings.