Despite a difficult youth which was eventful enough to inspire films and novels, Pan Yuliang was the first female student at the Shanghai School of Fine Arts, her talent taking her to study in Lyon, Paris and Rome. In her work, bright colors and loose brushwork construct a refined and seductive representation of the feminine. Her portraits and nudes convey the image of a free, joyful and daring woman, which led to her being opposed by the nationalist government, despite the fact that she represented the pinnacle of a hitherto unseen modernity in the field of female art in China. In 1937 she returned to Paris, where she continued to work until her death, producing over four thousand pieces.
