A selection of Guangdong master Guan Shanyue’s paintings featuring flowers and birds are on display at Guan Shanyue Art Museum. Entry is free.

Flower-and-bird painting is a kind of Chinese painting originated in the 10th century. Styles varied from gongbi (meticulous outlines with bright-color fillings), ink wash or freehand to a combination of gongbi and freehand.

Guan (1912-2000) was famous for his grand landscape paintings inspired by his travels as well as his flower-and-bird paintings. Under his brush, flowers, especially plum blossoms, are depicted as unyielding instead of as delicate.

“When Guan studied with great Lingnan painter Gao Jianfu in the 1940s, Guan was influenced by Gao’s effort to modernize traditional Chinese painting, so he copied and learned from replicas of Japanese painters Takeuchi Seiho and Hashimoto Kansetsu recommended by Gao. Thus, Guan’s early paintings were influenced by the styles of ancient Chinese paintings, Lingnan and Japanese art,” said Chen Xiangbo, director of Guan Shanyue Art Museum.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Guan explored using flower-and-bird paintings to reflect the new social life in China. And in the 1980s, his paintings combined firmness and flexibility, using layered ink strokes.

Dates: Until July

Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Mondays

Venue: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, 6026 Hongli Road, Futian District (福田區紅荔路6026號關山月美術館)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宮站), Exit B(Cao Zhen)