Xu Beihong
On July 19, 1895, Xu Beihong was born in Qitingqiao Town, Yixing County, Jiangsu Province, southern China, 15 kilometers west of the vast Taihu Lake.
Xu Beihong: (1895-1953) a master of modern painting art, a native of Yixing, Jiangsu. He entered school at the age of four and studied painting from his father. At a young age, he traveled east to Japan, and the next year went to France, where he taught under his tutelage. He then entered Xuliang College and the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris to study in Germany in 1921. He returned to China in 1927 and served as an art professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. At the Paris Art Exhibition in 1933, the French government purchased twelve paintings and set up a special room for display. Xuan went to Europe and held art exhibitions in Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union. After the Anti-Japanese War, he held many art exhibitions in Guangzhou, Changsha, Hong Kong, India, Sin Chew and other places in China to relieve refugees from the motherland. He has successively served as professor at Peking University and Guilin Academy of Fine Arts. Later, he served as the principal of Beiping Art College. After liberation, he served as president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and chairman of the All-China Art Workers Association. In terms of painting creation, he opposes formalism and insists on a realistic style, advocating that "the good ancient methods should be kept, the outdated ones should be inherited, the bad ones should be modified, the unsatisfactory ones should be improved, and those that can be adopted from Western paintings should be integrated." Inherit the excellent tradition of Chinese painting, absorb the strengths of Western painting, and create its own unique style. He is good at Chinese painting, oil painting, and especially good at sketching. He has profound attainments and is good at conveying the spirit. The famous oil paintings "My Queen", "Tian Heng's Five Hundred Men", Chinese paintings such as "Nine Fang Gao", "The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountain", "Meeting in Tokyo", etc. are the most important. He is famous for his horse painting, which is characterized by strong brushwork, magnificent spirit, layout, avoidance and coloring, all of which are innovative. . When he was ill in 1952, he donated all his creations and collections to the country. He has been actively engaged in art education throughout his life, devoted himself to the development of Chinese art, and cultivated many outstanding talents. . Died in Beijing in 1953. When he was only fifty-nine years old, his residence was renovated into a memorial hall for Xu Beihong. His representative work "Galloping Horse" is the most beloved. The intercropping of flowers, birds and cats is also unique and full of interest. He is the author of "Pulu Dong", "Chu Lun Masterpiece", "Beihong Sketches Collection", "Beihong Oil Painting Collection", "Beihong Colored Ink Painting Collection", etc.
The shores of Taihu Lake are a gathering place for talented people, poets, and painters from all ages in China. It not only has clear mountains and rivers, but also has hard-working and brave people and a long and glorious cultural tradition. According to legend, Fan Li and Xi Shi lived in seclusion in Yixing during the Spring and Autumn Period, making a living by making purple clay pottery. He is known as Tao Zhugong, the ancestor of purple clay pottery. Yixing has a reputation as the pottery capital of China to this day. There is also a historic site called "Jiao Bridge" in Yixing, which was the place where Zhou Chu of the Jin Dynasty used to kill dragons to kill the people. Xu Beihong's father, Da Zhanggong, was an upright painter. He was good at poetry, calligraphy, and seal cutting, and was especially good at painting. He had profound attainments in landscapes, figures, flowers and birds. He did not admire fame, but only sought to be famous. He once carved many seals to express his aspirations, such as "Half tillage, half reading, half fishing and woodcutting", "My home is in the sound of reading", "When I have free time, I write pictures and sell them, without having to commit sins in the world." "Money", "son's heart, hero's courage..." His love and pursuit of art and his noble moral character deeply influenced Xu Beihong and led him to embark on the road of painting.
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Xu Beihong started living with his father at the age of 6 When he was studying, he went to Liyang by boat with his father when he was 10 years old. He wrote the poem "The spring water is filled with green, the spring mountains are beautiful, the wind is good, and the boat passes thousands of mountains." After he finished reading "Four Books" and "Zuo Zhuan" at the age of 9, he began to study painting with his father, copying a painting and figure of Wu Youru every day. Wu Youru was the largest illustrator in the late Qing Dynasty. He could depict pavilions, pavilions, insects, fish, birds and beasts, exotic flowers and plants, and even thousands of armies and horses on a large scale. Every time Xu Beihong went to the city with his father, he would go to the painting shop to view the works of Shi Tao, Ba Ren, Ren Bonian and others. After returning home, he would write from memory. Under the diligent instruction of his father and the influence of innovative senior painters, he laid a solid foundation for Chinese painting. In his lonely boyhood with few toys, Xu Beihong quietly fell in love with many animals around him, and carefully observed and described them, such as docile cows, galloping horses, quacking white geese, and ducks floating on the water. The depictions of flowers lying tiredly in the corner or growing on trees... all appear in his brushstrokes one by one, as if they were alive.
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When I was 13 years old, my hometown college student Water, Da Zhanggong portable Xu Beihong gold coal produced in other places. He painted figures, landscapes, flowers, and animals, carved seals, and wrote Spring Festival couplets. At that time, there was only portrait photography in the city, so they often painted portraits of people. For the young Xu Beihong, this was an extremely stringent test that would have a significant impact on his future outstanding achievements in figure painting. Of course, this career as a busker not only honed his artistic skills, but also brought him more into contact with the lower class society and the working people, inspiring his concern for the country and the people. He often signed his paintings at that time "Shenzhou Boy" ", "Jiangnan Poor Hero" express his great ambition.
As a boy, Xu Beihong was already exploring and creating a new painting style. At that time, the Bandit brand cigarette boxes came with animal pictures. Beihong loved to collect them. When he saw various animal specimens, he began to paint them Sketch strictly and conscientiously.
Some copies of the works of Western art masters gave him a vague desire to study art in Europe. However, the cold reality stood in front of him. The wandering life made his father seriously ill, and they had to return to their hometown.
17-year-old Xu Beihong became a well-known painter in Yixing and taught art at Yixing Women's Normal School, Pengcheng Middle School, and Shiqi Primary School. When Beihong was 19, his father died of illness. After burying his father with deep sorrow, Beihong decided to go to Shanghai to look for opportunities to work and study. When Zhang Zufen, a Chinese teacher at Yixing Junior Normal University, said goodbye to him, he encouraged him diligently: "You are young, smart, and hardworking, and your future is limitless. I hope you will remember this sentence: 'People can't be arrogant, but they can't be arrogant.'" I have nothing to give you, so I will give you these words! Xu Beihong felt infinite gratitude from the bottom of his heart and remembered these words throughout his life. He still carried them with him as a motto until the end of his life. She said to me tenderly: "Mr. Zhang Zufen can be called my first confidant!" "
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In 1914, Xu Beihong came When he arrived in Shanghai, a fellow student named Xu Ziming who was a professor at a Chinese public school recommended Beihong's paintings to the principal of Xia Xia University. Very surprised, he whispered to Xu Pingming: "He is as young as a child, how can he work?" Xu Ziming argued passionately: "As long as he has talent, why do you care about his age?" "Later, Xu Beihong wrote several times to the president of Fudan University, but received no reply; so Xu Beihong lived in Shanghai. While he was wandering without time, Xu Ziming introduced him to Yun Tieqiao, editor of "Novel Monthly". Xu Beihong took his Hua and Xu Ziming's letter went to see Huai Tieqiao, and he was favored. He agreed to find a small position as an illustrator for Xu Beihong in the Commercial Press, and asked Xu Beihong to hear back in a few days.
At this time. It was already the season of autumn rain. Xu Beihong didn't have an umbrella, so he went to hear the news in the rain. Mr. Yun Tieqiao said happily: "It worked!" You will be able to move to the Commercial Press soon. "A warm feeling came to Xu Beihong's cold body. He immediately rushed back to the hotel and wrote to his mother and friends in his hometown saying that he had found a job. Xin Gang
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Xu Beihong is creating
Just as he sent the message, there was a sudden and rapid knock on the door. Yun Tieqiao stood in front of the door, holding a paper bag in his hand, and said anxiously: "The situation is desperate!" Xu Beihong hurriedly opened the paper package and saw that in addition to his own paintings, there was also an approval document inside: "Xu Beihong's paintings are not suitable for use." "Xu Beihong felt that his heart suddenly burst open and blood kept pouring out.
An uncontrollable pain and disappointment gripped him strongly. He ran to the Huangpu River and wanted to end his life. Turbid and rushing sweat hit the river bank, and the ship's whistle roared sharply. Xu Beihong unbuttoned his clothes and let the ruthless wind hit his young chest. A cold shiver slowly spread from his heels to his whole body. , he said to himself soberly: "A person who can extricate himself when he is at the end of his rope is not considered cowardly!" "
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Xu Beihong returned to his hometown, After seeing off his first melancholy New Year's Eve without a father, a folk doctor in the town comforted him with deep sympathy and gave him a small sum of money. So Xu Beihong came to Shanghai again, but he still couldn't find him. By chance, Huang Zhenzhi, a wealthy businessman in Shanghai, saw Xu Beihong's works, admired his genius and sympathized with his plight, and generously provided him with accommodation. However, Huang Zhenzhi unfortunately went bankrupt and Xu Beihong had no one to rely on. When brothers Gao Jianfu and Gao Qifeng, painters of the Lingnan School, opened the Aesthetic Library in Shanghai, Xu Beihong painted a picture of a horse and sent it to him, which was greatly appreciated. "And asked Xu Beihong to draw 4 more pictures of ladies. At this time, Xu Beihong only had 5 copper plates left, and it would take a week to finish the 4 pictures of ladies. Xu Beihong could only buy a ball of glutinous rice with one copper plate every day to satisfy his hunger. Chapter He didn't eat all day long on the sixth and seventh days. When he finally took the four paintings of ladies to the Aesthetics Museum, it was snowing heavily on the street, and the Gao brothers were not there, so Xu Beihong had to give the paintings to the gatekeeper to accept them. Due to unbearable hunger, he had to take off his thin clothes and pawn them.
Xu Beihong was creating
When the severe cold gradually subsided, Xu Beihong saw the enrollment advertisement of Aurora University and went there. He applied for the exam and was admitted. However, he was shy and had to borrow money from a fellow countryman, Ruan Zhaiguang, who was not rich. Ruan Zhaiguang warmly received and helped him, so Xu Beihong enrolled in the school and studied French. , still continuing to paint.
One day, he read in the newspaper that the Mingzhi University attached to Hartung Garden was seeking a portrait of Cangjie, so he drew a portrait of Cangjie based on the ancient book's description, hoping to get some remuneration and solve his life difficulties. A few days later, Mingzhi University sent a car to pick him up, praised his work, and invited him to teach academics. Xu Beihong explained that he was still studying and had to wait until the end of the semester.
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When summer vacation comes, Xu Beihong carries Art supplies, go to Akechi University. At that time, Mingzhi University often invited scholars and celebrities to give lectures. Xu Beihong therefore met famous scholars Kang Youwei, Wang Guowei and others. Kang Youwei discovered that Xu Beihong was a prodigy in the art field, and asked him to paint portraits of himself, his late wife, and their friends, and gave Xu Beihong his entire collection to view. Under Kang Youwei's guidance, Xu Beihong visited stone steles everywhere, improved his calligraphy skills, developed a sophisticated taste, and gradually formed his majestic and unrestrained personal style.
Xu Beihong received the writing remuneration from Mingzhi University and decided to go to Japan to study art. In May 1917, Xu Beihong arrived in Tokyo and spent the whole day looking for places to hide paintings. He felt that some Japanese painters were no longer limited by old methods, and gradually shed their old habits, and were able to carefully observe and depict nature, reaching a profound and beautiful state. This made Xu Beihong more determined to integrate Chinese and foreign techniques. In Japan, he also made friends with the famous artist Fuzuki Nakamura and saw his collection of many ancient Chinese inscriptions and fine Japanese paintings. Nakamura also asked Xu Beihong to bring the Japanese version of "Guang Yizhou Double Collection" to Kang Youwei.
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December 1917, Xu Beihong After arriving in Beijing, he began to show his prominence in China's world with his vibrant and national-style paintings, and was hired by Peking University as a tutor for the Painting Research Society. He saw a large number of excellent ancient Chinese paintings in the Forbidden City and drew rich nutrition from them. The intellectual circles in Beijing were very active at that time. Publications such as "New Youth" and "Weekly Review" violently attacked feudal ideas and spread democratic ideas and culture. Xu Beihong was also deeply affected, which made him stand firm. He was at the forefront of the New Culture Movement and became the most determined innovator among Chinese painters. In the first issue of Peking University's "Painting Magazine", he used the title "On the Reform of Chinese Painting" to fiercely attack the conservative forces in Chinese painting, pointed out pointedly: "The decadence of Chinese painting has reached its extreme today. The civilization of the world has no foundation. Today, Chinese painting is 50 steps back from 20 years ago, 500 steps back from 300 years ago, and 800 steps back from a thousand years ago. It is regrettable. " He believed that the reason for the decline of Chinese painting was: "It is said to be conservative, but it has lost its status of academic independence." He lamented and wrote: "It is really a shame and a great humiliation to treat the people who failed to catch up thousands of years ago." On the issue of how to carry out innovation. On the above, he clearly stated: "Keep the good ancient methods, inherit the outdated ones, change the bad ones, add to the deficient ones, and incorporate them into Western paintings." Thanks to the help of Bo Zengxiang and Cai Wupei , Xu Beihong finally received public funds to study in France. In March 1919, Xu Beihong set sail from Shanghai to France with the determination to learn science and democracy from Westerners and take the revitalization of Chinese art as his own mission, which began a turning point in his artistic career.
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After Xu Beihong arrived in Paris, he first I went to major museums to carefully observe the essence of Western art and compare the differences between them and Eastern art. I stopped painting for several months. Then, he studied sketching at Xuliang Painting Academy. Later, he was admitted to the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he was taught by Flamant and Gaulemont. Every time I take a competitive exam, I come out on top. After school, he went to the Louvre and the Luxembourg Museum to study the similarities and differences of various schools and the achievements of famous artists. Copy the works of masters such as Pluto, Delagiolova, Velázquez, and Rembrandt. In the winter of 1920, the French sculptor Tang Pott introduced Xu Beihong to Dayan Bouveret, the leader of the French National Painting Society. This painting society opposed the outdated and conservative French Artists Association and advocated innovation based on absorbing the strengths of various schools. It enjoyed high prestige at that time. From then on, Xu Beihong went to Da Yang Kong Kong to listen to Da Yang's teachings and participated in tea parties held by artists of the school every week. In particular, he learned deeply from the conversations about difficult relationships between people. Dayang encouraged Xu Beihong and said: "Learning art is very hard. Don't be boastful and don't settle for small achievements." He asked Xu Beihong to draw sketches carefully and develop the habit of silent writing.
In April 1921, the French National Beauty Exhibition opened. Xu Beihong watched carefully from morning to night. When he walked out of the venue, he discovered that it was snowing outside, and he had not eaten and lacked clothing to keep out the cold. Feeling hungry and cold, with abdominal pain like cramping. Since then I have suffered from severe intestinal spasms. He often forced himself to paint despite the pain, and one of the sketches that is still preserved today reads: "When people look at my paintings, how can they know that I am in so much pain every time that I do this?"
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Xu Beihong and his wife in 1948 Liao Jingwen, son Qingping, and daughter Fangfang took a group photo
※ This summer, his illness became more serious, and the tuition fees were completely cut off, so he had to go to Berlin. Xu Beihong met Kump, the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts, and they became friends. After seeing the works of Menzel, Suigandini and Camp, he felt that although there were many excellent works in France, they were still limited. He loved Rembrandt's paintings the most, so he went to the museum to copy them, and each of them continued to paint 10 paintings. I didn't even drink a sip of water during this period, especially when I was copying Rembrandt's portrait of the Second Lady. I worked hard and felt that I had gained a little bit, but I still couldn't use it in my own works, so I worked harder.
In 1923, after Xu Beihong returned to Paris, his oil painting "Old Woman" was selected for the French National Art Exhibition for the first time, and he stated that although he had not slacked off in his studies, he had made little progress. People must have the habit of suffering, and the same goes for studying... People who have not experienced hardship often lack grand ambitions. The biggest writers are mostly people with the strongest perseverance, so they can achieve high achievements and plead for mankind. "Da Yang asked Xu Beihong to further refine his sketches. When painting the human body in oil, he should carefully study the parts. He must understand the subtleties and not pursue sharp and eye-catching brush strokes. Xu Beihong followed Dayang's teachings and saw great results, so he worked harder. He successively published "Sorrowful" In 1927 alone, 9 works were selected for the French National Art Exhibition and received high recognition.
In 1925, Xu Beihong also went to Singapore to paint for Tan Kah Kee and his Xiamen University, and exhibited his paintings in Shanghai, which aroused great interest in the cultural circles. Kang Youwei wrote at that time: "Xu Beihong wrote portraits of me, Duke Wen Shen, and Shen Zipeishang 10 years ago. They are lifelike. In painting, he is a genius. He traveled to Japan together and studied painting in France and Germany for 7 years. Now I have been shown the painting, which is profound, magnificent, and majestic. It is unique in China and cannot be compared to others. His paintings are unprecedented in China, and his style of painting is also unprecedented in China. "
In 1926, Xu Beihong went to the museum in Brussels to paint. He loved Rubens's works and considered him one of the greatest color painters in ancient and modern times.
In the spring of 1927, Xu Beihong went to Italy. and Switzerland, lingering in front of the famous sculptures of St. Peter's Temple and Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, admiring the masterpieces of Renaissance masters, and visiting Pompeii to appreciate the ancient history of the West The atmosphere of art.
After 8 years of diligent study and study, Xu Beihong felt that he was confident before creating and could write freely, so he brought his superb painting skills and extensive knowledge. He returned to his motherland after a long absence and devoted himself to the realism art movement that revolutionized Chinese painting. As an honest and upright artist, Xu Beihong's artistic activities have always been closely linked to his ancestors' fate.
< p> After returning to China in 1927, Xu Beihong, together with Tian Han and Ouyang Yuqian, founded the Nanguo Art Institute. While serving as the director of the art department, Xu Beihong began to create the huge oil painting "Tian Heng's Five Hundred Soldiers" to praise the oppressed. The most valuable thing for the people is the spirit of being wealthy, not immoral, and unyielding.-------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -
In 1928, Nanjing Central University also hired Xu Beihong as a professor in the art department. Xu Beihong proposed that he could not quit his job in Nanjing, so he taught in Nanjing for half of the month.
In 1929, Xu Beihong became the dean of the Beijing Academy of Art. He appointed Qi Baishi as a professor with the firm attitude of "one word speaks to all" and tried his best to promote the innovation of Chinese painting teaching.
Feeling that many talents in China were being buried and suppressed, he From 1931 to 1933, Xu Beihong created the huge Chinese painting "Jiu Fang Gao", which vividly expressed the joy of Chollima meeting his confidant and the far-sighted demeanor of Jiu Fang Gao, a woodcutter. For two years, he painted a huge oil painting "The Empress" with the theme of "The Book of Books" to express the people's desire to be rescued from their oppressors.
In order to promote Chinese art and improve it. The international status of Chinese art. In 1933, Xu Beihong went to Europe to hold a Chinese painting exhibition. The exhibition first caused a strong shock in Paris. 3,000 important people attended the opening ceremony. The exhibition was extended for 15 days at the request of the audience, and the catalog was printed to the third edition. There were more than 200 introduction articles in newspapers. French writer Paul Valori wrote an article specifically for the exhibition. Xu Beihong's works were enthusiastically praised by the public, and the French government purchased his painting "Cypresses". The painting was praised as being comparable to Rousseau, the master of the Barbizon School.
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Later, Xu Beihong went to Brussels again He held personal exhibitions in , Berlin and Frankfurt, which were a great success. More than 50 newspapers and magazines have published praise articles.
Xu Beihong's Chinese painting exhibitions held in Milan, Italy, Leningrad, and Moscow in the Soviet Union also caused a sensation. The documentary of the exhibition was screened nationwide and was hailed as the most important cultural exchange since Marco Polo. The Hermitage Museum of the Soviet Union also established a special exhibition room for Chinese paintings. Xu Beihong wrote in the article "The Process of Promoting Chinese Art Throughout Europe": "I went abroad to hold Chinese painting exhibitions this time. I have exhibited 7 times in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union, and established 4 Chinese exhibition rooms in A total of 20 million copies of articles and magazines were published by major museums praising Chinese culture due to the exhibitions. All my contacts with the exhibitions, internally or externally, were never done in the name of the government... I spent a lot of money from the Chinese people and it was known as the Cultural Fund. There is no help from any of the agencies. All my fellow citizens, please pay attention to this point. "Xu Beihong brought back precious masks of Lenin and Tolstoy from the Soviet Union, and promoted Soviet prints in Nanjing and Nanjing. Exhibition in Shanghai.
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In 1935, Xu Beihong went to Guangxi , created the landscape painting "Spring Rain on the Li River", which depicts the world-famous Guilin landscape with a large splash of ink. The scenes blend together, the pen and ink are dripping, and the method is novel and unique. It is a representative work of Chinese freehand landscape painting.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Central University moved to Chongqing, and Xu Beihong returned to the school to teach. He also created traditional Chinese paintings such as "Ba People Drawing Water" and "Ba Poor Women" that reflected the hardships of life in the field.
In 1938, Xu Beihong took his works to Nanyang and held art exhibitions in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Ipoh with unprecedented success. Xu Beihong donated all the proceeds from the exhibition to help refugees in his motherland.
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In 1940, Xu Beihong came to India Invited by the poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, he gave lectures at the International University in India and held an art exhibition in Calcutta. Tagore wrote in the preface to the exhibition: "The Chinese art master Xu Beihong provides us with an ancient image that has disappeared in memory in rhythmic lines and colors, without losing the local color and color of his own experience. Unique style...I admired these paintings to the fullest and I am sure that our art lovers will get rich inspiration from these paintings...To talk too much is to talk...In this way, I raise the curtain of conversation to guide the audience Heading towards a once-in-a-lifetime beautiful feast?quot;
Xu Beihong made more than 10 sketches for Tagore, and based on them he completed the Chinese painting "Tagore." The great poet is concentrating on conceiving a beautiful poem. , the tranquil and mysterious garden has infinite poetry. It is one of Xu Beihong's portrait masterpieces. Under Tagore's introduction, Xu Beihong also made a sketch of Mahatma Gandhi.
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In India, Xu Beihong created the huge Chinese painting "The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains" that he had long conceived. The arduous spirit and belief in victory are shocking. At the critical moment of the survival of the Chinese nation, he used his brush to write a great image worthy of the times. Xu Beihong made more than a hundred paintings and paintings for this painting. The painting finally used giant rice paper to express the human body in violent motion. This was unprecedented in Chinese and Japanese paintings. It opened a new page in the development of Chinese painting and was a fusion between history and reality, Western painting and Chinese painting. A perfect combination.
※ In 1942, after Xu Beihong returned to Chongqing, he prepared a large number of outstanding Chinese paintings under extremely difficult conditions, among which animal paintings occupied a very important position. The animals in his paintings all reflect the artist's own spirit and have strong feelings about the times. He likes to write about the majestic lions that dominate the beasts, and uses the inscription "New life comes alive" to point out the awakening and rising of the longing for the nation. When people are invaded and ravaged, he behaves like a wounded lion with angry eyes.
The horses he painted are indomitable
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On September 29, 1953, Xu Beihong's body was buried in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery in Beijing. This is the photo taken during the burial. Xu Beihong's Tomb
His courage and ferocious strength are loved by people all over the world. "I ask you what is the use of healthy foot fruit? I am running all day in search of life", "This world is not a long night, the desert and desolation have an end", "Mountains and rivers have fought a hundred battles to return to democracy, and the rugged roads have been smoothed out", the painter's The joy, anger, sorrow and joy have been integrated with the galloping horse that can support life and death. The rooster that crows in the wind and rain, the sparrow that flies against the wind, the gluttonous white goose that fails to eat, and the lazy pig that is confused are all vivid and come out of the paper, and are endowed with profound meanings. It is intended to give people good aftertaste and profound enlightenment.
In the summer of 1943, Xu Beihong painted two figure paintings with completely different atmospheres in Qingcheng Mountain, and they were both based on Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs". One is a lonely mountain ghost in a quiet valley, and the other is a soldier who sacrificed his life for the country in a fierce hand-to-hand battle. Whether it is "Mountain Ghost" or "National Memorial", the artist's sadness and anger overflows outside the painting, and is closely connected with the pulse of the motherland.
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In 1946, Xu Beihong came Beiping, served as the principal of Beiping Art College. He hired many influential and capable artists to teach at the school. In view of the weaknesses of Chinese art teaching, he attached great importance to strict basic training, emphasized that sketching is the foundation of plastic arts, and the description of objects must be accurate. At the same time, he also opposed copying objects and advocated key selections, both broad and subtle. He advocated realism and required students to take expressing people's lives as their own responsibility rather than being self-sufficient by copying ancients. He advocated the development of traditional Chinese painting and the development of traditional Chinese painting. innovation.
In April 1949, he attended the first World Peace Conference as a representative of New China. In the same year, he was appointed president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and elected president of the National Association of Art Workers. The heavy teaching work and social activities never stopped him from painting. He painted many portraits of famous labor models. Moreover, he continued to care for young people outside of school. Every day when the first ray of dawn bursts into the window, he gets up and goes to work. The first thing he does is to reply to the letters he received in the previous year. Most of them come from young people who love art from all over the country. Some people also send their works. Ask for correction. Xu Beihong responded, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each volume of paintings sent, and giving praise, encouragement, criticism, and suggestions. As a result, he shortened his sleep time, which lasted for decades. As a senior painter, he felt the responsibility to care for the younger generation. At the same time, the review of his painful journey of learning painting also burned his passion for a long time. Therefore, many outstanding contemporary artists are on the road to success. In the past, Xu Beihong had all given help or expressed deep affection.
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In 1951, Xu Beihong fell ill I went to the Daoshu Renovation Project in Shandong to experience life, painted many portraits of migrant workers, and prepared to create a huge oil painting "Contemporary New Foolish Old Man". During the composition period, he suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was left half-body paralyzed.
In 1953, when Xu Beihong was gradually able to get up and move, he went to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to give classes to graduating students and teacher training groups. He felt that there was still a lot of knowledge that had not been imparted to them, so he tirelessly gave lectures and revised paintings for them. , completely forgetting that he was still ill. On September 23, the Second National Conference of Author Representatives in Literature and Art opened. He served as executive chairman and presided over the meeting. That night, he suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and died on September 26. Representatives from the literary and art circles across the country sent Xu Beihong to be buried in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in the western suburbs of Beijing.
In December of the same year, an exhibition of Xu Beihong's posthumous works was held in Beijing. Premier Zhou Enlai visited it in person. He stood in front of Xu Beihong's portrait and pointed to the couplet written by Xu Beihong with great thoughts: "With a cold eyebrow, he bowed his head to a thousand fingers." "Gan Weiru Ziniu" said: "Xu Beihong has this kind of spirit." He praised Xu Beihong's works for integrating ancient and modern Chinese and foreign techniques, and believed that his oil paintings and sketches also have national styles, and he was an art master of his own time. .
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Xu Beihong's former residence was turned into In the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall, Premier Zhou Enlai inscribed "Beihong's Former Residence" on the plaque in powerful fonts.
There are more than 1,200 pieces of Xu Beihong's works. He saved more than 1,200 pieces of works by calligraphers and painters from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing and modern times, as well as more than 10,000 Chinese and foreign art books, pictures, and tablet rubbings. They were all dedicated to the country by their families.
Xu Beihong only lived to be 58 years old, and his life was very short. But his love for the motherland and people has always remained. His works with strong patriotism and superb artistic skills are displayed in the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall in Beijing, exciting the hearts of thousands of viewers and arousing people's attention to He is deeply missed.
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Introduction to Xu Beihong's main works:< /p>
Xu Beihong is good at using horses to represent people and objects to express his feelings, in order to express his patriotic enthusiasm. The horses in Xu Beihong's works are like "washing away all the horses in the past", with a unique attitude of high energy and heroic spirit.
"Galloping Horse"
Judging from the inscription on this painting, this "Gallanting Horse" was painted in the autumn of 1941 during the Second Battle of Changsha. At this time, the Anti-Japanese War was in the stage of a stalemate between the enemy and ourselves. The Japanese army wanted to completely defeat China and make the Kuomintang government surrender before launching the Pacific War. Therefore, they tried their best to launch the Changsha Battle repeatedly in an attempt to open up Chongqing, the chokepoint for north-south transportation. Our side suffered a defeat in the second battle, and Changsha was occupied by the Japanese invaders. Xu Beihong, who was holding an art exhibition to raise funds in Penang, Malaysia, was anxious when he heard that the national crisis was imminent. He painted "Galloping Horse" all night to express his anxiety.
"Horses"
Xu Beihong's early horses have a kind of literati's indifferent poetic style, showing the attitude of "wandering and looking back, lonely and lonely". After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Xu Beihong realized that artists should not be limited to artistic narcissism, but should breathe the same fate as the country and devote artistic creation to the fiery life. Therefore, his horse became an awakening nation. Spiritual symbol. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, his horse became a symbol of "the mountains and rivers have fought a hundred battles to return to democracy, and the rugged road has been leveled." It still looks like a galloping horse, but it is less anxious and sad, and more cheerful and uplifting.