The Flowers are in Full Bloom
Zhu Danian
1973
- YEAR:1973
- MEDIUM:Oil on panel
- DIMENSIONS:70 × 91 cm
Introduction
Zhu Danian, a pioneer of modern Chinese gongbi (meticulous) painting in rich colours, was one of the founders of the Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University (formerly the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts). Between 1972 and 1973, Zhu was invited, together with Yuan Yunfu, Wu Guanzhong, and Huang Yongyu, to collaborate on the mural Ten Thousand Miles of the Yangtze River for the Beijing Hotel, for which they traveled to the Yangtze River Basin to sketch the landscape. The grandeur of the landscapes and the pure beauty of the countryside ignited the artists’ creative passion, and The Flowers are in Full Bloom was born from this period. Based on Zhu’s 1972 pen-and-ink drawing Dahlias, this work incorporates the hallmarks of traditional gongbi painting, characterized by heavy colours. Through meticulous rendering of the petals, the composition achieves a sense of depth and solidity while remaining true to the artist’s aesthetic principle of being “both deep and flat.” The blossoms are devoid of superficial prettiness, instead fully embodying the strength and dignity Zhu sought to convey.
