Home
» City specials
» Hangzhou
Exhibition examines noble role of artist and leader
Print Edition
IT’S rare that the works of seven masters are displayed at one time. But that’s precisely what Zhejiang Art Museum is doing right now.
An exhibition featuring the works of seven presidents of the prestigious Xiling Seal Society are now on display to commemorate the 170th birthday of Wu Changshuo (1844-1927), the society’s first president. Wu was also a prominent painter, calligrapher, poet and seal artist.
“Wu’s paintings, poetry, calligraphy, and seal art reached lofty heights that nobody has surpassed,” says the exhibition’s curator Yu Liang, also director of the academic department of Zhejiang Art Museum.
The exhibition displays about 350 pieces from the seven masters. The artworks are on loan from nine museums and libraries around the country.
Chinese seals are a general term for printing stamps and impressions, which are used in lieu of signatures in either artwork or documents. They usually refer to a small red stamp in the corner of an artwork. However, seal art is a distinct and indispensable part of Chinese painting and calligraphy.
Hangzhou-based Xiling Seal Society dates back to 1904 and is the top academic seal art association in the country.
The society’s president does not have to be a seal artist, but must be a scholar and master of Chinese arts.
So-called literati paintings are a tradition in China. In the past, all scholars were required to study art. They started with calligraphy because they needed to write with a brush and then moved to painting. Their paintings have always included calligraphy and seal stamps Ñ necessary parts of traditional paintings.
Chen Zhenlian, vice president of Xiling Seal Society, says Wu is widely admired because he was a true leader.
“At the time, Western art had been introduced into China,” Chen says. “Some advocated giving up Chinese arts to learn foreign art, but Wu insisted with carrying on our traditions. And he also raised Chinese art to a new level.
“We hope this exhibition helps people cherish our traditions,” Chen adds.
Wu’s “new level” was the seamless combination of poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal art in one piece.
The bulk of the exhibition features Wu’s work, 230 pieces to be exact. About half are calligraphies and seal scripts, but those who don’t read Chinese need not worry. The majority are in shigu script, an ancient style that most Chinese today can’t read.
So, how does one appreciate Chinese calligraphy when one can’t understand what it says?
In general, the composition of every character, the balance of the entire work, along with the sharpness and strength of strokes all matter. Yu says visitors will be able to see the differences between Wu’s early and late works.
The first three works in the entrance hall are a good example.
The one on the left was done while Wu was in his 40s, with light ink and slightly affected strokes. The second was created during his 60s and features heavier ink and combines four calligraphy styles in one work. In the last one, created in his 80s, he used pure ink and a free-style that he even used for the seal script (zhuanshu).
In the hall exhibiting Wu’s paintings, people can find a similar development. The paintings from his senior years look heavier and bolder than the works from middle age.
Si Shunwei, vice president of Zhejiang Art Museum, says Wu’s senior period is what set him apart from most artists.
“His achievements in his later years showed he had taken over from the past and set a new course for the future,” Si says. “And that is the reason he was elected as the first president of the society, which did not have a president during its first decade.”
Wu initially devoted himself to poetry and calligraphy, and later on was considered the lead painter of the Shanghai school. As a painter, he was noted for helping rejuvenate flowers and birds as a subject for art.
When looking at his paintings, note how they appear as though he was writing rather than painting, as curator Yu suggests.
“He painted lines and spots as if he wrote lines and spots, and thus every stroke is of strength that he had practiced for decades,” Yu says.
The works of Ma Heng, Zhang Zongxiang, Sha Menghai, Zhao Puchu, Qi Gong and today’s president, 97-year-old Rao Zongyi, are also on display. The exhibition will run through August 30.
Another exhibition commemorating the fifth birthday of Zhejiang Art Museum is ongoing until September 2. It showcases 120 works collected by the museum selected from thousands of pieces.
The works include pieces by masters like Pan Tianshou and Wu Guanzhong.
Exhibition of the works of seven presidents of the Xiling Seal Society
Date: Through August 30 (closed on Mondays), 9am-4:30pm
Address: 138 Nanshan Rd
Admission: Free
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
