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Biography

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Born in January 1916, a native of Kaiping, Guangdong Province, he studied in Hangzhou Art School in 1936, and was enrolled in the art department of Yan-an Lu Xun Institute of Fine Arts in 1938. He went to study oil painting and copy master works in the Soviet Union in 1955. In 1938 he made preparations for a national wood cut exhibition to be held in Wuhan. He also made preparations for organizing an all-China wood cut association and was elected as councilor. The same year he went to Yan-an and was sent to the front to take part in a wood cut group of Lu Xun Institute of Fine Arts. He made numerous wood cut works for Xinhua Daily. He held the post of vice-director of Art Department of Literature and Art Institute of North University in 1946. He was director of the Department of Literature and Art of North University in 1949. After 1949, he taught in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His art productions frequently took part in national exhibitions. The posts he held included: head of art group in Central Literature and Art Research Office in Yan-an, director of Art Department of Literature and Art Institute of North University, and professor of Literature and Art Institute of North China University. At present he is professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, councilor of Chinese Artists¡¦ Association, and member of Chinese Federation of Literature and Arts Circles.

Owing to their untiring efforts, the painters of older generation such as Luo Gongliu paved the way for the development of Chinese oil painting. From then on, Chinese oil painting freed itself from a state of dependency and passed beyond the primary stage of learning from others, and gradually formed its own style with national characteristics. Under their influence, the Chinese oil painting was no longer restricted to the historical condition of realism. It conscientiously sought after creation of conception beauty. In different ways of their own, they brought up a batch of talented painters of Chinese oil painting, many of whom were influenced by Luo.

He was admitted to study painting in Hangzhou Art School in 1936. He learned sketching with Fang Ganming. In the early fifties he made many revolutionary productions such as ¡§Tunnel Warfare¡¨, ¡§Report on Rectification¡¨, ¡§Heroic Fighters¡¨, ¡§Mao Zedong on Mount Jinggangshan¡¨ and ¡§Going up Mount Jinggangshan¡¨. All these were painted with deep feeling of life, simple moulding language and in a vigorous art style. They were frank and sincere, in pursuit of real and noble beauty, free from affectation.

He went to the Soviet Union to further his study in oil painting in 1955. He began to ponder on how Chinese oil painting should travel on its own road and how to infuse traditional Chinese painting into realistic technique of oil painting, thus forming a national character in its own right in Chinese oil painting. The traditional Chinese painting is richly experienced in freehand brushwork, integration of true and false and a state of fusion of feeling and sight in poetic conception. The art works of Luo during the early sixties showed such artistic inclinations of the artist.

In painting landscape, Luo emphasizes the seeking of poetic flavor and charms, the stressing the charge in colorful palette and the handling of space to show the broad landscape. The forceful and unrestrained freehand brushwork of Chinese traditional painting should also be learned. Luo¡¦s unique view on portrait painting is worth mentioning. His opinion on portrait painting consists of three factors, namely form, color and expression, of which the expression of vivid touch is the goal of an artist¡¦s pursuit. It is not merely the spiritual quality of the subject matter; it also contains the deep feeling of the painter. Many of his portrait productions are the combination to a high degree of the three factors. The vivid expression is not only reflected through the form but also shown in the color. He pays attention to draw nutrition from Chinese traditional figure painting and seeks to apply most refined strokes to portray the spiritual world of the subject matter. Luo is the painter who strives to make contemporary Chinese oil painting manifest national style and features. He attaches great importance to the long standing and well established traditional national art, as well as the painting of literati and technique of painting. To make serious practice and study for serving our purpose has been his goal. Such efforts have never ceased despite his illness in his late years. His oil paintings are not simple mechanical application of Chinese traditional painting skill, but an infusion of the advantages of the arts of East and West, which is the result of his careful consideration and in-depth comparative study. He participated in the exhibition ¡§Footsteps of Celebrated Masters¡¨ sponsored by the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1993, in which 20 of his productions were on display. In the same year, he held a solo show at the China Art Gallery in Beijing, in which tens of his recent works were on display. On both occasions, the response was unprecedentedly enthusiastic.

 Art Work 1

Art Work 2