The painter Gao Qipei (1660-1734) was born in a northern province of China. He was a successful civil servant at the courts of Kangxi (1662-1722) and Yongzheng (1723-1735), both emperors of the Qing Dynasty. His official function allowed Gao enough time to develop himself as a painter. From the age of twenty he was looking for his own style. He found it by painting with his fingers instead of a brush, an idea that he had fallen into during a dream. With his fingertips or with his entire hand he applied brushstrokes; for lines he used a long nail. Initially Gao also worked with brushes, but he increasingly left them in the closet as he perfected his finger painting. His paintings stand out because of their spontaneity.
