XU Beihong
Born :July 19, 1895(1895-07-19)Yixing, Jiangsu China
Died: September 26, 1953 (aged 58)d. He is famous oil painter as well as masters of Chinese ink painting in the 20th century.He was also regarded as one of the first to create monumental oil paintings with epic Chinese themes – a show of his high proficiency in an essential Western art technique.[
Xu Beihong was trained in the tradition of academism in Paris and was a painter of realism. He insisted profoundly on the training of sketch drawing and the precision of perspectives. He strongly believed the first objective of art was realism and real life was the source of art. The other major contribution he made was his effort to improve Chinese traditional painting skill by ……
Zhang Zeduan’s Along the River During the Qingming Festival was painted on silk with light colors. Most of the images were outlined by black strokes, exemplifying the characteristics of painting of the Song Dynasty–neatness and fineness. A vivid reproduction of the prosperous Bianliang (today’s Kaifeng), the 24.8-cm-high and 528-cm-long scroll is an unrivaled work of art of the 12th century. As a court painting, the Qingming scroll is unlike ordinary “folkloric paintings.” Lively, humorous folkloric scenes can easily be found in Itinerant Vendors (Huolang Tu), Children at Play (Xiying Tu) and other paintings by mediocre painters such as Su Hanchen and Li Song. In the Qingming scroll, Zhang Zeduan gave a panoramic description of the activities of all walks of life on the Qingming Festival in Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng,
Chinese painting peaked in the Song Dynasty. In the entire art history of ancient Chinese paintings, the paintings of the Song period had the most remarkable features of extensive depiction of the real life. The painters created many artistic techniques that were closely linked with the society in a variety of imposing styles. The painting styles, forms and theories in the later Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties were all evident in the paintings of the Song Dynasty, a testament to the maturity and full flourish of the China painting in that period. Many important breakthroughs in painting techniques were made in the Song Dynasty. Emphasis was laid on the human figures’ emotions, intriguing plots and the creation of distinctively characterized images. Painters specializing in flowers, birds, mountains and rivers tried to produce a pleasant artistic conception, while stressing ingenious, true-to-life portrayal of the images. Scholar-official painters also played a positive role in boosting the art of painting, with remarkable contributions to subjective expression and the exploration of calligraphic effect. Court paintings enjoyed tremendous development, and enriched the nationwide painting boom, registering accomplishments that are not to be underestimated.
