Prosperous Flowers

Huang Yongyu, a Fellow of the China National Academy of Painting, was a legendary artist renowned for his diverse range of creative mediums and a style both witty and free-spirited. Prosperous Flowers is one of Huang Yongyu’s earliest surviving oil paintings. He uses oil on canvas to emulate the ink-outline technique (baimiao) of traditional Chinese painting, combining washes of color with linear drawing, composed with a refined sense of balance and elegance. The arrangement follows the tradition of “Qinggong” still life paintings, placing peonies, lilies, chrysanthemums, and thistles in a rust-stained antique vessel. With flowing lines and poetic, refined colours, the painting reflects Huang’s deep contemplation of nature and his keen insight into life.