Post 3

          At the time of the twentieth century, people began to think of change. They wanted new ideas that were not customary to their constricted ideals. In order to view these ideas they had to change their perspective in things; thus, they became the change they longed to see in their society. They changed their perspective by conforming the way they view art. This is how many different branches of art came into place. Impressionism, post-impressionism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, and so on then became seen more frequently.  
         Pan Yuliang share similar ideals. However, her life story contributed to this greatly. Yuliang was born in Yangzhou, Jaingsu in 1899. She became orphaned at such a young age and had to be supported by being sold into a brothel, also known as a "sex house."  Over there she met Pan Zanhua. Zanhua took her in as her legal concubine, "sex slave," regardless of the fact that he had a wife and children. To much of her hope, he was an educated intellect, which means he supported Yuliang's wishes to paint as she likes and encouraged her new found love of oil painting, something other than the bland and common ink. 

Pan Yuliang, Four Beauties After Bath, 1955

          At the time, painters always worked with their customary styles utilizing ink. However, Yuliang believed the westernized oil painting had an "emphasis on individual expression, including the eroticism contained in the naked female figure" (Guerrilla Girls 72).

Pan Yuliang, Nude Study, 1947, Anhui Museum, Heefi

Yuliang believed that she is able to portray of the meaning of her self portraits using oil painting. She feels as though the spectator can see every curve of her body showing her in a resting form not caring of her surroundings not allowing this portrait to satisfy the male gaze. It shows that she is truly fatigue probably after a long day of work, which in her case may be the the duties of a concubine. Using oil painting in Yuliang's perspective, she is able to express how she truly feels and her emotions through her work. 

PanYuliang, Nudes and Masks, 1956

          Nudes became an important symbol in Yuliang's paintings. At the time she was creating them, it was not exactly a norm in China. It challenged the social customs in China because they just began teaching nudes within universities. However, Yuliang believed that it was a symbol of true beauty and there was no other way to achieve her strong message within her artistic creations but to paint nudes in particular. In her painting above, she was able to express how she must be content seeing as she was "blessed" with the opportunity to be a concubine considering that she had no other options. In actuality, she had to face these circumstances and put on a happy face for show. This painting may also represent the fact that she could not bare any children for Pan Zhanhua as his concubine and that she must have been upset knowing that she eventually had no purpose.   

Pan Yuliang, Nude, 1952

          Yuliang met Liu Haisu, a mentor who shared the same westernized persona as Yuliang. Soon after she graduated in 1921, she fled to Europe to continue studying and painting after her scholarship. Although she was seen as a "social scorn" due to her history as a concubine, she became a role model by portraying her aspirations and continuing her education, making her bad situation turn good after all. She viewed the world a different way, which is what enabled her to achieve all that she did giving hope to every women who suffered from degrading positions. This soon influenced contemporary artists to fulfill their dreams and aspirations and to follow the same Western ideals as Pan Yuliang.

                                                                                 Works Cited

"PAN YULIANG | ASIAN 20TH CENTURY & CONTEMPORARY ART Auction | 20th Century, 1950s | Christie's." PAN YULIANG | ASIAN 20TH CENTURY & CONTEMPORARY ART Auction | 20th Century, 1950s | Christie's. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

"PAN YULIANG | ASIAN 20TH CENTURY & CONTEMPORARY ART Auction | 20th Century, Paintings | Christie's." PAN YULIANG | ASIAN 20TH CENTURY & CONTEMPORARY ART Auction | 20th Century, Paintings | Christie's. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

"The 20th Century: Women of the "isms"" The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.