Only Chinese version is available
Hibiscus
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Artist
Chao Shao-an
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Year
1960s
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Media
Album leaf, ink and colour on paper
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Dimensions
30 x 38 cm
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Museum No.
HM1998.103.8
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Artist Bio
Chao Shao-an (1905 – 1998), a native of Panyu, Guangdong province. He studied painting at the Gao Qifeng (1889 – 1933) Private College of Art. In 1930, he founded the Lingnan Art Studio in Guangzhou. In 1948, Chao settled in Hong Kong and re-established the Lingnan Art Studio to teach students. He excelled in painting landscapes, animals, flowers, insects and fish, and was particularly noted for painting cicadas. Chao is a representative painter of the second-generation artists of the Lingnan School. His works are widely exhibited in Hong Kong and overseas. He was awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Hong Kong (1994).
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Description
Chao Shao-an had once lived in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, which is famous for its hibiscus flowers. Chao remembered: “When I lived there, the hibiscus bloomed profusely in late autumn. I loved it then for its varied and changing colours, with pure white flowers tinged with pale yellow, pink, light green or even light purple.” The multi-coloured hibiscus, which “changes its colour during the span of the day” captured Chao’s imagination, and he found the corresponding means to depict the flower. The flowers in this painting are probably painted at noon, when the white flower begins to acquire its pinkish tint. Set against the ink painted leaves, the flowers are even more stunning. Chao believed that “the hibiscus becomes more brilliant if grown near water”, so he adorned his painting with water-boatmen to suggest water, making the painting even more fascinating.
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—Collection of Hong Kong Heritage Museum
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