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許幸之 |
Biography |
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Xu Xing Zhi |
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Born in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, his original home was at She Prefecture, Anhui Province. He was fond of painting as a child. After completing his study from an old style private school in 1917, he studied painting under Lu
Fengzi, a famous art educator in the south of the Yangtze River. During 1919-1923 he did advanced study in Shanghai Art School and Oriental Art Research Institute. In the exhibition held jointly by teachers and pupils under the auspices of the Oriental Art Research Institute in April 1923, three of Xu’s works won the applause of sponsors: Guo
Moruo, Yu Dafu and Cheng Fangwu. The three works were “Mother and Son”, “The Setting Sun” and “Sky Light”. He went to Japan on a study-work programme in 1924. First he learned sketching at Kawabata Studio. The second year he was admitted to Tokyo Art School and painted the oil painting “Evening Walk” in 1926. He studied paining with the famous painter Fujishima Takeji in 1927. During 1927-1928 he organized Epoch Art Society with Jiang
Feng, Hu Yichuan, Cai Ruohong and Zhang E in Tokyo, and at the same time a declaration was made in the journal of Yusi edited by Lu
Xun. In 1930 he was elected chairman of the Chinese Leftwing Artists Alliance. In 1930-1931 he made a number of realist paintings such as “Home of Workers”, “Fleding from Famine” and “Road-builders”. A joint exhibition with Wu Yinxian of oil paintings and photographs was held in Shanghai in the early winter of 1934, arousing strong response in the painting circles. At the invitation of North Jiangsu liberated areas, he went to prepare and found the Central China Lu Xun Art Branch School and taught in the art and drama department in 1940-1941. During this period, he painted fresco “Portrait of Gorky” and designed the New Fourth Army’s arm band. Later he was professor at Teachers’ Institute of Zhongshan University, Shanghai Drama School, Nanjing Drama Institute and Suzhou Institute of Social Education.He was transferred to the Central Academy of Fine Arts as director and professor of the Theoretical Research Department in 1954. He devoted great efforts in establishment of the courses such as the Art History of the West and General Theory of Arts, etc. He taught painting and art history after 1959 and made some fine works including “Silver Concerto” and “Red Lantern Persimmon”, etc. His works were of realist style, highly skillful and decorative. In addition he also published writings on “Leonardo da Vinci” and “Landscapes of Corot Camille”. Numerous articles on art were also published in “Art Study”, “World Art” and “People’s Daily”. He held his solo show at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1960. He travelled on painting tour to
Dalian, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Guilin in 1974. In recent years, his works included “Peach Market” (which was kept in China Art Gallery) and “March in the Silver World”, etc. He was a well-known painter, art theorist and dramatist, as well as a song and poem writer. In the fifties he began to take strong interest in Chinese ancient and folk ceramics and porcelain. The purpose of his collection, appreciation and study of them was in order to strengthen the understanding of art heritage, and to draw nutrition for enriching his art language as well. He made deep study of their modelling beauty, especially was intoxicated by their rich colours and lustre. Oftentimes he depicted fruits, vegetables and container together and sought harmony and unity among different objects. He was in pursuit of a plain but substantial spiritual state. In this period, his representative still life works were “Vegetable Harvest” (1961), “Sliver Concerto” (1962) and “Porcelain under Candle Light” (1962). The first one was in praise of the beauty of simplicity, the second one, a melody of elegance, the third one, an intoxication of oriental appreciation of beauty. All this shows what the painter was obsessed was how to express national spirit and national appreciation of beauty with art language. He strived for virtuosity in painting, and was rich in spiritual intension. At his time the still life works of him were unique, original, and lauded as classical in the history of Chinese oil painting. Mr Xu’s plainspoken style of true feelings at that time was a lash at blindly copying the naturalist and artificial style of the Soviet. |
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| Evening Stroll | Silver Color Concerto |