Seated Female Nude

Created in 1940, Seated Female Nude is representative of Chang Shuhong's style during the period when he began to experience changes in how he created his art. As early as when he was studying in France, Chang began to think about the national dimension of his oil paintings. After returning to China in 1936 with a solid foundation of training in Academic Classicism, he started to experiment artistically, attempting to develop “Chinese-style oil paintings.”

The combination of a female nude and a Chinese background was a theme that Chang returned to frequently in the 1940s. The accurate shaping of the figure and the clever composition demonstrate the artist's skill at painting using the techniques of Classicism. The overall lighting is soft and gentle, and the coloration is harmoniously proportioned. The background and the props are completely covered with Chinese motifs, a typically Eastern combination of flat surfaces and decoration.