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Mastering nature with paint and ink
By Xu Wenwen |
August 21, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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IN the VIP lounge of Beijing Hotel there is a Chinese elaborate-style painting called "Magnolia Blooming." It has been repeatedly used as a backdrop for photos of state leaders when they receive foreign guests.
This famous painting is now on display at Zhejiang Art Museum in Hangzhou and is part of the Zhu Danian Paintings Exhibition.
Zhu (1916-1995) was a master of Chinese painting, which is known for realism and meticulous patterns.
The exhibition displays more than 100 elaborate-style paintings and pen drawings, including several replicas. Elaborate-style paintings always feature plants and animals, and Zhu was especially adept at flowers and trees.
Art critics say Zhu's paintings are graceful with clear and refined colors. The paintings are easy-to-understand and feature a strong spirit.
"Magnolia Blooming," for example, depicts many magnolia trees. The flowers in the trees are in various stages of bloom and have vivid coloring. Some orioles nestle among the flowers.
"Each magnolia flower is painted from life by my father, and he always would draw a sketch first," says Zhu Chongshou, Zhu Danian's son and professor of the Arts and Design Academy of Tsinghua University.
"He believed it was essential to create artwork that can be understood by experts as well as commoners, and this can be seen in all of his works," adds Zhu Chongshou.
Zhu Danian studied in Japan for several years and was influenced by the country's oriental decoration art. Still he persisted in using heavy colors in his paintings, a skill only a few artists can manage successfully.
Zhu Danian also traveled to Yunnan Province many times to depict its abundant natural beauty. His pen drawings are so good that he was dubbed the Chinese version of Albrecht Durer, a German pen drawing master.
Though using only one pen and one color, Zhu's drawings are clear and feature everything from exuberant primitive forests and clusters of flowers to Yunnan's folk houses and people.
"Every stroke is certain and well thought out," his son says. "This is not to say he invented any techniques, rather, he just followed the tradition, but paid the utmost effort to every detail."
Renowned painter Wu Guanzhong once said: "Zhu's work is subtle yet grand at the same time … Nowadays, who can repeat Zhu's spirit of working from sunrise to sunset while never flaunting himself?"
Zhejiang Art Museum is also showcasing the Exhibition of Collections, which boasts 200 paintings from the late 19th century to the present.
There are four main categories in the exhibition: landscapes; figures; paintings of folk people, birds and flowers; as well as a section on famous painters, which includes Huang Binhong, Huang Junbi and Fang Zengxian.
The work of four modern Zhejiang school painting masters is also catalogued. This section of the exhibition is devoted to Wu Guanzhong's paintings of Yunnan Province, Zhou Cangmi's figure paintings, Wu Fuzhi's bird and flower paintings and Zhao Yannian's paintings of Xiangshan, a costal town in Zhejiang.
? Zhu Danian's Paintings Exhibition
Date: August 18-September 1 (closed on Mondays)
? Exhibition of Collections
Date: August 18-September 4 (closed on Mondays)
Hours: 9am-5pm
Address: 138 Nanshan Rd
This famous painting is now on display at Zhejiang Art Museum in Hangzhou and is part of the Zhu Danian Paintings Exhibition.
Zhu (1916-1995) was a master of Chinese painting, which is known for realism and meticulous patterns.
The exhibition displays more than 100 elaborate-style paintings and pen drawings, including several replicas. Elaborate-style paintings always feature plants and animals, and Zhu was especially adept at flowers and trees.
Art critics say Zhu's paintings are graceful with clear and refined colors. The paintings are easy-to-understand and feature a strong spirit.
"Magnolia Blooming," for example, depicts many magnolia trees. The flowers in the trees are in various stages of bloom and have vivid coloring. Some orioles nestle among the flowers.
"Each magnolia flower is painted from life by my father, and he always would draw a sketch first," says Zhu Chongshou, Zhu Danian's son and professor of the Arts and Design Academy of Tsinghua University.
"He believed it was essential to create artwork that can be understood by experts as well as commoners, and this can be seen in all of his works," adds Zhu Chongshou.
Zhu Danian studied in Japan for several years and was influenced by the country's oriental decoration art. Still he persisted in using heavy colors in his paintings, a skill only a few artists can manage successfully.
Zhu Danian also traveled to Yunnan Province many times to depict its abundant natural beauty. His pen drawings are so good that he was dubbed the Chinese version of Albrecht Durer, a German pen drawing master.
Though using only one pen and one color, Zhu's drawings are clear and feature everything from exuberant primitive forests and clusters of flowers to Yunnan's folk houses and people.
"Every stroke is certain and well thought out," his son says. "This is not to say he invented any techniques, rather, he just followed the tradition, but paid the utmost effort to every detail."
Renowned painter Wu Guanzhong once said: "Zhu's work is subtle yet grand at the same time … Nowadays, who can repeat Zhu's spirit of working from sunrise to sunset while never flaunting himself?"
Zhejiang Art Museum is also showcasing the Exhibition of Collections, which boasts 200 paintings from the late 19th century to the present.
There are four main categories in the exhibition: landscapes; figures; paintings of folk people, birds and flowers; as well as a section on famous painters, which includes Huang Binhong, Huang Junbi and Fang Zengxian.
The work of four modern Zhejiang school painting masters is also catalogued. This section of the exhibition is devoted to Wu Guanzhong's paintings of Yunnan Province, Zhou Cangmi's figure paintings, Wu Fuzhi's bird and flower paintings and Zhao Yannian's paintings of Xiangshan, a costal town in Zhejiang.
? Zhu Danian's Paintings Exhibition
Date: August 18-September 1 (closed on Mondays)
? Exhibition of Collections
Date: August 18-September 4 (closed on Mondays)
Hours: 9am-5pm
Address: 138 Nanshan Rd
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