Wu Changshuo Tianzhu Narcissus Chart Axis

[Wu Changshuo’s Narcissus Painting Axis]

The Narcissus Painting Axis, painted by Wu Changshuo in the Qing Dynasty, paper edition, colored, 174.7 cm vertically and 47.5 cm horizontally
The inscription on this page reads: “Qun Xian congratulates on the birthday. He is supposed to be a resident of Fan Hu. He is Youyou Wu Junqing.” With the white seal of “Chang Shuo”
“Youyou” is the first year of Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty (1909), when Wu Changshuo was 66 years old
This picture is also called “Celebrating the Birthday of the Immortals”. The picture depicts geranium and narcissus. The composition is quite ingenious. The Narcissus grows along the slope and takes an oblique posture. The uneven vertical and oblique posture of the sky makes the picture full of changes and full of interest. The leaves of narcissus are lined with ink and filled with stone green. The strong color adds fresh vitality; Tall geraniums are made with realistic techniques. Their bright bright red color contrasts with the green color of narcissus, which is bright but not gaudy. This painting is one of Wu Changshuo’s representative flower paintings
Tianzhu and Narcissus have the meaning of longevity, and they are the common themes of longevity paintings. The resident of Fan Hu is Zhou Xian (1820-1875), who was born in Xiushui, Zhejiang Province (now Jiaxing). An important painter in Shanghai in the late Qing Dynasty, proficient in ink and flowers, and friendly with Ren Xiong, Ren Yi, Wu Changshuo, etc. The title of the picture is “Imitation of Fan Lake”. It can be seen that this picture has something to learn from Zhou.