Xu Beihong
(1895–1953), founding father of modern Chinese painting. Born in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, China, in 1895, Xu Beihong began drawing at an early age and by 1915 was discovered selling cheap fan paintings in Shanghai and sent by a sponsor to Japan to study art. From 1919 to 1927 Xu again studied abroad, this time in Paris and Berlin, immersing himself in European Classical and Renaissance art while disdaining the post-Impressionists. He would later argue against the influence of these art forms in China.
Xu himself excelled at figure drawing and painting, and he attempted with mixed results to meld Chinese and Western styles of art. In particular, Xu adopted the French academic mode to portray well-known Chinese historical scenes, such as in Tian Heng and His 500 Retainers (1928). His signature work, however, became realistic paintings of galloping horses done in Chinese brush and ink.
A lifelong educator, Xu acted as the director of the Central Art Academy in Beijing from 1946 until his death in 1953. The Xu Beihong Memorial Museum was established in Beijing in 1954 to house his extensive art collection, which his family donated to the state.
Further Reading
Clunas, Craig. (1997) Art in China. New York: Oxford University Press.
Fong, Wen C. (2001) Between Two Cultures. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
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