Lu Yanshao was a Chinese landscape painter known for his use of bold brushstrokes. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Lu applied dark ink directly on the paper, without creating outlines. Born on June 26, 1909 in Shanghai, China, he studied traditional painting under Wu Hufan, and attended the Wuxi Art Academy. Early on in his career, Lu made copies directly from Ming-era paintings, and familiarized himself with the techniques of seal carving and stone rubbing. When the Japanese invaded China in the 1930s, Lu fled to a remote region in the mountains where he continued to hone his style. His first solo show in 1938 was praised for the work’s elegant sense of composition. During the Cultural Revolution, Lu’s artistic freedoms were severely limited, though he was able to make painting expeditions to different parts of China. By the 1980s, the artist had embarked on the vigorous works for which he is remembered. Lu died in 1993 in Shanghai, China. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in British Columbia.