Biography Xu Beihong

former residence of xu beihong in nanjing.

xu began studying classic chinese works , calligraphy father xu dazhang when six, , chinese painting when nine. in 1915, moved shanghai, made living off commercial , private work. travelled tokyo in 1917 study arts. when returned china, began teach @ peking university s arts school @ invitation of cai yuanpei. beginning in 1919, xu studied overseas in paris @ École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, studied oil painting , drawing. travels around western europe allowed him observe , learn western art techniques. xu beihong still wrote regularly daily university of peking university dealt wider issues campus politics. xu addressed issues of art , art history , in 1920 university art journal called painting miscellany published.

xu beihong , jiang biwei

he , partner jiang biwei came china in 1927 and, 1927 1929, gained number of posts @ institutions in china, including teaching @ national central university (now nanjing university) in former capital city nanjing.

in 1933, xu organized exhibition of modern chinese painting traveled france, germany, belgium, italy, , soviet union. during world war ii, xu traveled southeast asia, holding exhibitions in singapore , india. proceeds these exhibitions went chinese people suffering result of war.

galloping horse

after founding of people s republic of china in 1949, xu became president of central academy of fine arts , chairman of china artists association. xu beihong master of both oils , chinese ink. of works, however, in chinese traditional style. in efforts create new form of national art, combined chinese brush , ink techniques western perspective , methods of composition. integrated firm , bold brush strokes precise delineation of form. art teacher, advocated subordination of technique artistic conception , emphasizes importance of artist s experiences in life. of of painters of modern era, can safely said xu 1 painter responsible direction taken in modern chinese art world. policies enacted xu @ beginning of communist era continue control not official government policy towards arts, continue direct overall direction taken in various art colleges , universities throughout china.

xu enjoyed massive support art collectors across asia. between 1939 , 1941, held solo exhibitions in singapore, india , malaya (penang, kuala lumpur , ipoh) raise funds war relief effort in china. in 1 war benefit exhibition in march 1939, xu held group exhibition chinese ink painting masters ren bonian , qi baishi, , showcased 171 works of art @ victoria memorial hall.

he met luminaries such rabindranath tagore , mahatma gandhi during stay in india, , got sources of inspiration led creation of iconic works such 4.21m-wide foolish old man removed mountains painting on show @ singapore art museum (sam). artworks after poem of 6 dynasties, portrait of ms jenny , put down whip created during sojourns in southeast asia. sam director kwok kian chow mentioned xu s name tops list in asian modern realism art, , connections various parts of asia , europe opened new chapter of historical narratives, exchanges , influences of aesthetics , ideas in art.

xu pushed boundaries of visual art new techniques , international aesthetics, in bid reinvent chinese art. in fact, xu s influence extends beyond china in 20th-century. many pioneer singapore artists such chen wen hsi, lee man fong , chen chong swee looked him mentor , worthy peer, sharing xu s advocate closely observe nature , inject realism chinese painting.

xu died of stroke in 1953. after death, xu beihong memorial museum established @ home in beijing wife liao jingwen.

controversies

in 2008, 2 ceramic vases xu came centre of legal tussle, between sponsor of art exhibition titled xu beihong in nanyang @ singapore art museum , family friends of xu. art collectors huang man shi , huang meng gui had passed vases , of xu s paintings mr jack bonn, hong kong art dealer in 2006, auctioned off @ christie s auction house. 18 cm-high vases made in 1940s, , titled malay dancers , orchid. these items returned if auctions failed. instead, vases went on show @ museum without approval owners. museum maintained unaware of legal implications surrounding artifacts. after end of exhibition in july 2008, museum received notice reclaim vases jack bonn. in 2009 vases returned descendants of huang brothers.

xu s son, xu boyang, signed affidavit nude portrait had been found of mother jiang biwei. painting sold approximately $11m in 2010 @ beijing jiuge auctions. after sale claimed painting not xu beihong piece created in 1983 student @ central academy of fine arts.