Burgundy Morning Glories

The bold, freehand brushstrokes of the vines and vibrant colors of the morning glory flowers are typical of paintings of the Shanghai school. This school arose during the second half of the nineteenth century, when Shanghai became China’s biggest port city. The new wealth and classes of the city created a demand for bold and decorative paintings for household displays, and for this purpose relatively simple but vigorously expressive paintings were created in large numbers by an expanding group of artists.

By the early part of the twentieth century, the Shanghai school had become internationally renowned. Wang Geyi was one of the last artists active in this traditional style. He studied painting with the great master Wu Changshi (1844–1927) and was associated with other peer artists such as Wang Zhen (1867–1938) and Zhang Daqian (1899–1983). Wang Geyi’s paintings were popular both in China and abroad since the 1930s and he later served as the honorary director of the Shanghai Fine Art Academy.