Peony in Boneless Style

To create forms achieved by washes of ink and colour, rather than by using ink to delineate outline, is known as the mogu style (meaning boneless) in traditional Chinese paintings. Unlike the gongbi style with an emphasis on the fine brush, mogu flowers are rendered with swaths of colours that allow the artist to fully express the ethereal, radiant beauty of the flowers. Xu Chongsi of Northern Song is widely regarded as an early pioneer of the style while the work of Yun Shouping from early Qing Dynasty is considered exemplary, giving the viewer a unique sensation of beauty.
The flower pedals are often built up with washes or first highlighted with ink and subsequently complemented with light colours. Swathes of modulated light-red washes and white powder make up the shape of the peonies. The leaves, done in broad sweeps with a large brush soaked in light green, give the image a unique sense of depth. A keen observer of flowers in nature, Zhang Daqian depicts the peonies with an elegance and luminance that shine through.