the shanghai school

1、<p>　　The Shanghai School</p><p>　　The decades from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century were years that saw the migration of many painters to Shanghai from its neighboring provinces Jiangsu a

2、nd Zhejiang. The phenomenon gave rise to the Shanghai School, which corresponded to the Beijing School in the north. Artists in this school made innovative efforts to integrate genteel techniques and sensibilities with t

3、he exuberance of folk art, and Western media with indigenous ones. Their works therefore appeal both to those wit</p><p>　　Ren Bonian </p><p>　　Ren Bonian (1840-1895) was one of those artists wh

4、o moved to Shanghai to seek more opportunities for his career. Born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, he arrived in his 20s ?C talented, but little known ?Cto make his way in a metropolis already brimming with celebrated a

5、rtists. Seeing works under his own name didn’t sell, and crushed by the subsistence livelihood he managed to eke out, Ren Bonian began to fake the signature of one of the most beloved painters in the city ?C Ren Xun.Buye

6、rs immedia</p><p>　　By the age of 40 Ren Bonian had overtaken his mentor in the art circles of Shanghai and beyond. He incorporated Western watercolor techniques and sketching into Chinese ink painting, enha

7、ncing the realistic character of his works. To bring life into the objects on paper, he observed the world around him with the utmost attention. His home in Shanghai was adjacent to a pet bird and fish market. Everyday R

8、en Bonian spent hours there watching his feathered friends, studying their constitution and m</p><p>　　In Ren’s time ?C the late Qing Dynasty, a declining China suffered under the constant bullying and aggre

9、ssion of foreign powers. The painter produced a number of historically themed works to express his concern for the future of the nation, to drum up patriotism, or to rally his people in defense of the country. The best k

10、nown exhortations of bravery and patriotism include Su Wu Herding Sheep. Su Wu was a Han envoy detained by the Huns during his mission and trapped in the wilderness to tend her</p><p>　　Wu Changshuo </p&g

11、t;<p>　　Wu Changshuo (1844-1927) was born in today’s Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, and began his evolution into a noted painter from a study of seal carving. At an early age he began to explore ancient Chinese c

12、haracters, which were mostly found on metal vessels and stone tablets. As seal making is fundamentally about handwriting, he practiced calligraphy for many years, by copying the inscriptions of earlier masters on rocks.

13、This experience lent an aura of antiquity and formality to his paintings, m</p><p>　　When in his 30s, Wu Changshuo studied with Ren Bonian. His freehand bird-and-flower ink paintings stood out with their lav

14、ish colors and imposing compositions ?C a vigorous, vibrant breakaway from the flaccid and gloomy trend of the genre in the late Qing Dynasty. </p><p>　　Painting was long deemed an art for the elite of the s

15、ociety, but Wu Changshuo never intended to stay aloof from the general public. He catered to the aesthetic preference for bright colors by being the first in China to apply Western red pigment in his flower paintings, ad

16、ding warmth to these traditionally black and white creations without impairing their inherent grace and simplicity. </p><p>　　Wu should be understood from his place in the transition of Chinese painting from

17、 the classic to the modern, and his clear influence on subsequent generations of painters such as Qi Baishi. Market prices for his works have been escalating in recent years, setting a record of RMB 16.5 million for 12 f

18、olding screens of flowers at the Guardian 2004 spring auction. </p><p>　　Liu Haisu </p><p>　　Liu Haisu (1896-1994) might be the most controversial artist in China. This son of a private banker i

19、n Changzhou, Jiangsu Province showed his maverick streak in childhood. He left home at 14 to study Western painting in Shanghai, and founded a fine arts institute with his classmates two years later. In 1918 he took his

20、students on a painting tour to the West Lake in Hangzhou, unprecedented for art schools in the nation at the time, where classes were exclusively indoors. In 1919 his institute ma</p><p>　　The next year Liu

21、Haisu jolted society again by using female life models, sparking roars from conservatives about the propriety of naked females in the school’s studios. A Shanghai senator wrote an article in the local newspaper calling f

22、or the government to dole out punishment for the offence to general mores. The chair of the city’s chamber of commerce also sent an open letter to the editor of a local newspaper reviling Liu as “l(fā)ower than beasts.” The

23、local authority granted a secret warrant f</p><p>　　In February 1929 Liu Haisu headed for Europe on a cultural exchange tour, during which he met prominent artists like Picasso and Matisse, and created over

24、200 works. On returning to China, he displayed these paintings in Shanghai and Nanjing, attracting more than 100,000 visitors. Liu made a second trip to Europe in 1933, lecturing in several universities and collecting mo

25、re kudos on the continent. </p><p>　　Meanwhile, back home he was despised by many of his peers, including Xu Beihong, one of the greatest painters in modern Chinese history. Xu once wrote a letter to the gov

26、ernment accusing him of treason during the Japanese occupation. In the 1990s some scholars claimed to have found evidence that many of Liu Haisu’s paintings and writings made before the 1950s were actually the work of ot

27、hers. They argued that he didn’t reach the artistic height we see today until the 20-year period beginning in </p><p>　　Liu Haisu is best remembered for his portrayal of the Yellow Mountain. He summited the

28、mist-veiled mountain ten times during his lifetime, during the years between 1918 and 1988. As with the persistence and tenacity required of him as a climber, Liu Haisu demonstrated similar grittiness and boldness in his

29、 artistic career. </p><p>　　Chen Yifei </p><p>　　Chen Yifei (1946-2005) might be the most successful painter of all those who bridged Chinese and Western art. When Armand Hammer, the flamboyant

30、United States business tycoon, made his 1985 visit to China, he picked Chen’s Twin Bridge ?C Memory of My Country as his gift to Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. </p><p>　　Chen Yifei deftly interprets the essen

31、ce of traditional Chinese art ?C peace and elegance ?C through a Western media ?C oil. He first caught the attention of American art critics in the 1980s after publishing his Pace in Art News magazine. Later he produced

32、a musician series, entrenching his hallmark of romantic realism. Every piece in this series shows a Caucasian woman playing a musical instrument such as a cello or a flute. Their fair complexions and intriguing composure

33、 are set against sombe</p><p>　　A native of river-fed Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, Chen Yifei created a good number of works about waterfront villages, such as Ancient Bridge, A Place Where I Played in Child

34、hood and Tranquil Canal. To Western eyes these rural communities on canvas emit an otherworldly serenity and almost paranormal beauty. In 1985 his Bridge was selected by the UN for the design of a first-day cover. </p

35、><p>　　Chen Yifei explored new terrain in the 1990s ?C Chinese women of old. His ladies are all impeccably comported and clad in gorgeous Qing costumes. Playing music or fondling a fan, they have a sedate and m

36、elancholy appeal, embodying a classic femininity rarely found in hectic modern times. The highly expressive oil techniques lend the pictures nuance and chromatic richness, while the traditional aesthetic perspective pres

37、erves their Oriental nature. </p><p>　　The commercial success of Chen Yifei matches that of his artistic might. During the years from 1991 to 1998, 33 of his works were hammered away at auction for more than

38、 RMB 40 million; in the 1990s this amounted to the biggest haul in the world for a single Chinese painter. After 2000 Chen dabbled more widely in the realms of art, including film, fashion and environmental design until