A painted portrait shows an adult Chinese woman seated against a softly mottled field of green, teal, and warm beige. She has light-to-medium skin with gentle pink shading at the cheeks and along the neck, dark eyes, and black hair gathered into a loose, rounded bob with curled strands at the temples. Her head turns slightly to her left, while her gaze looks off to the right, creating a composed, inward, observant expression. Strong, simplified features like arched brows, a long nose, and full red lips are outlined with decisive dark strokes. She wears a plain white long-sleeved blouse with a rounded neckline edged in a thin dark line; the sleeves billow softly and end in ruffled cuffs. She is modeled with thin washes and visible brushwork rather than heavy layers, so the surface feels airy and direct. Her hands rest in her lap with long fingers. A blush of pink appears near the lower edge, hinting at a skirt. In the upper left corner, the artist’s red inscription includes his name (Ding Yanyong) and a clear date, “31/12.71,” which anchors the portrait as a specific moment recorded with speed and intention. The painting’s power comes from restraint so her posture and gaze carry meaning. The calligraphic contour line acts like structure and emotion at once as it sharpens the blouse’s edges, sketches the hands, and crisply defines the face, while translucent color washes soften everything into quiet atmosphere. The sitter’s averted eyes suggest privacy and self-possession. The explicit dating (December 31, 1971) feels like a closing note to a year, turning this portrait into a kind of witness. Even if Ms. Meng Xia’s biography isn’t widely published, Ding’s economical, attentive, and unsentimental treatment frames her as unmistakably individual, with dignity held in line, silence, and steadiness.

“孟霞女士肖像 (Portrait of Ms. Meng Xia)” by 丁衍庸 / Ding Yanyong (Chinese) - Oil on canvas / 1971 - Long Museum West Bund (Shanghai, China) #WomenInArt #LongMuseum #DingYanyong #丁衍庸 #Ding #ChineseArt #WomenPortraits #art #artText #artwork #BlueskyArt #OilPainting #龙美术馆 #西岸馆 #PortraitofaWoman #ChineseArtist

An unidentified young Chinese woman sits with a contemplative expression. Her dark hair is styled in a short, neat bob, framing a delicate face with soft features. Her skin is rendered with subtle highlights and shadows, giving it a luminous quality. Her lips are painted a striking red and cheeks in dark pink as vibrant contrasts to the soft pink of her loose-fitting, wide-sleeved blouse. She also wears a dark skirt that falls in soft folds around her. Her posture is relaxed with a hint of formality. Her gaze is directed slightly away from the viewer, adding to the sense of introspection. The background is a rich tapestry of flowering chrysanthemums vividly painted in various shades of white and purple. The deep green of the foliage contrasts beautifully with the lighter colors of the blossoms and the woman's clothing, creating a dynamic visual interplay. The atmosphere is one of quiet contemplation and graceful beauty. Chinese artist Fang Junbi (方君璧), aka Fan Tchun-pi, was born in Fuzhou as the 11th child of a wealthy family. Her brother Fang Shengdong (方聲洞) was a martyr hero of the 1911 2nd Guangzhou Uprising (辛亥广州起义). In 1912, the 14-year-old Junbi moved with her older sister Fang Junying (方君瑛), a member of anti-imperial groups, to France. In 1917, Junbi began classes at the Académie Julian and then at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris, where she graduated in 1920. Junbi was the first Chinese female student to enter the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts exhibition and was the first Chinese woman in the annual Salon Société des Artistes Françaises. In 1936, Junbi returned to China and became closely associated with the Lingnan School (岭南画派) of traditional Chinese painters in Shanghai. Exiled by the new People's Republic of China in 1949, Junbi fled to Paris before immigrating to the U.S. in 1957, returning to China only once (in 1972). She passed away in Geneva in 1986 after living in Switzerland for the final 3 years of her life.

桃衣少女 (Portrait of a Lady in Pink) by / Fang Junbi (Chinese) - Oil on canvas / 1926 - Long Museum (Shanghai, China) #WomenInArt #WomanArtist #FemaleArtist #PortraitofaWoman #WomensArt #WomenArtists #ChineseArtist #LongMuseum #龙美术馆 #FanTchunpi #FangJunbi #方君璧 #art #artwork #ArtText #ChineseArt #1920s

With a mix of classic artistic fantasy and realistic domestic setting, this oil painting of a young Chinese women sitting on a folding wooden chair demonstrates Li's unique style and technique of Chinese portraiture. Wearing a knee-length midnight black skirt and loose teal singlet top, she looks at us from the side with an expression mixing awareness with amazement as a beautiful green Qingniao (青鸟) bird of Chinese mythology in full flight delivers a beautiful silk mulberry colored scarf in its beak. She reaches up to grasp the shawl with her right hand while carefully pinching a red rose stem with her index and thumb of her left hand above her left shoulder. Her bare legs and feet appear real and awkward at the same time as the toes of her right foot push up from the grey floor while her exposed left heel pushes against the left armrest so her left knee is on top of the right at almost a 90-degree angle. Her long black hair is pulled back above the ears in ponytail. Only a thin silver necklace graces her smooth long neck and chest. In the background (to our right), a single white pot with tall green plants provides balance to the bird flying in from the upper left. Li Guijun (李貴君) was born in Beijing in 1964, where he still lives and paints. After graduating from China's Central Academy of Fine Arts under the tutelage of Jiang Shanyi and Yang Feiyun, his oil painting “The 140 Studio” won an award at the 1985 “Artwork Exhibition of International Young Artists” held by the China National Museum of Fine Arts. Since then, his works have appeared in numerous exhibitions, galleries, and museums in China including Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong.

Warmth by 李贵君 (Li Guijun - Chinese) - Oil on canvas / 2006 - Solo Exhibition, 龙美术馆 Long Museum (Shanghai, China) #womeninart #fineart #chineseartist #liguijun #李贵君 #oilpainting #longmuseum #龙美术馆 #art #artwork #womensart #warmth #chineseart #painting #bskyart #contemporaryart #woman #artoftheday

The artist looks at herself from a 3/4 length portrait wearing a long sleeve black dress with dark wide belt and large exaggerated white collars. Her short black hair parted in the middle and casual face accented by rosy cheeks and dark red lipstick express subtle beauty while her slightly tilted posture with her left arm cocked on her hip exude confidence as her left arm lightly tugs up on the dark gown.

Self Portrait by Zhang Qiangying 張蒨英 (Chinese) - Oil on canvas / 1936 - Long Museum West Bund (Shanghai, China) #womeninart #femalepainter #art #portrait #chineseart #painting #zhangqiangying #artwork #artoftheday #fineart #chinese #longmuseum #張蒨英 #龙美术馆 #bskyart #bsky.art #oilpainting #herstory