Beheld the World of Spring

Part of the first generation of Chinese artists to study in France, Chang Shuhong is a pioneer in the nationalization of Chinese oil painting. He was the first director of the Dunhuang Art Institute, making outstanding contributions in the development of Chinese oil painting and the conservation of Dunhuang art. In 1975, Chang led a team to Xinjiang to study caves while creating this work. Using mural-like, bright, and saturated colours along with firm, forceful brushstrokes, he depicted a bouquet brimming with vitality in a simple clay jar. The name of the work is taken from Chairman Mao Zedong’s Nian Nu Jiao: Kunlun, “Born out of the sky, vast Kunlun, read all the colours of spring on earth.” Chang gave the painting to his son, full of inspiration and good wishes for the next generation.