Willow in the Morning Breeze

Gao Jianfu Chinese

Not on view

Gao Jianfu came of age with the fall of the dynasty, and like many of his contemporaries he eagerly sought solutions to China's backwardness in the culture of the West. He was fascinated with light and atmosphere as conveyed in Western painting.

In this lovely fan, done after a lifetime of experimentation with Western perspective, modeling, color and chiaroscuro, Gao has created a particularly Chinese rendition of light. The gray morning sky barely reveals a crescent moon.

Willow in the Morning Breeze, Gao Jianfu (Chinese, 1878–1951), Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on alum paper, China

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