Vase of Flowers, Glamorous Scenery
Wang Yachen
1929
- Year：1929
- Medium：Oil on canvas
- Dimensions：42 × 43 cm
Introduction
Wang Yachen, one of the first generation of Chinese artists to study in Japan, was the founder of China’s first painting society, the Oriental Painting Society, as well as a pioneering oil painter, ink painter, and art educator. Along with Liu Haisu and Wu Shiguang, he co-founded China’s first specialized art academy—Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. In 1929, he travelled through Europe to study painting, upholding the principle of “adopting the techniques of Western painting to innovate Chinese art.” This work dates from Wang’s European period, featuring rich colours and vigorous brushstrokes that depict roses and chrysanthemums in a rustic vase, embodying the essence of a seamless fusion between East and West. Classical precision of form, Impressionist painterly concepts and lively handling of light, coupled with the free-spirited charm of traditional Chinese painting, all converge upon the canvas through the blooming flowers.
