From the book master Yu Youren and Gao Ershi, to Tang Yihe, the pioneer of Chinese art in the 20th century, to Xu Minghua, the first generation of oil painters in the Soviet Union in New China... Recently, the National Art Museum of China has opened a number of new exhibitions to accompany the audience to welcome the New Year with the fine works of art masters. Director Wu Weishan revealed that in addition to the eight major exhibitions exhibited across New Year's Day, on January 7, 2022, the "Winter Olympics: Beauty is Chasing Dreams - Exhibition of Sports-themed Fine Art Works collected by the National Art Museum of China" will be launched, which is worth looking forward to.
Xu Minghua, a 90-year-old oil painter, came to Beijing to hold a solo exhibition
As the first generation of oil painters and art educators trained by New China, The 90-year-old Xu Minghua attended the opening ceremony of the "Academic Invitation Series Exhibition of the National Art Museum of China: Only the Only True - Xu Minghua Art Exhibition" on the 27th. The exhibition exhibits more than 200 works of Xu Minghua's oil paintings, drawings, sketches and other works, as well as a large number of precious documents, comprehensively reviewing his artistic life.
Xu Minghua, a native of Yixing, Jiangsu Province. In 1950, he was admitted to the Art Department of Nanjing University with the first place in his major. After entering the school, his sketches and colors were trained by Huang Xianzhi and Qin Xuanfu, who returned to China, and his art history was subject to Fu Baoshi. From 1955 to 1960, he was sent to study in the Soviet Union, and successively studied at the Petersburg Normal University in Moscow and the Leningrad Repin Academy of Fine Arts. After returning to China, he taught in the Fine Arts Department of Nanjing Normal University, and worked hard for the art creation and art education of New China, and achieved fruitful results.
Xu Minghua, 90 years old, personally attended the exhibition site
The exhibition has received strong support from the China Art Palace, the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum, the Nanjing Sifang Contemporary Art Museum and other institutions, bringing together the important works of Xu Minghua in the collections of each museum. The exhibition comprehensively shows the artistic world of this oil painter with three chapters: "Fine to The Ease - Sketch of the Ideal Realm", "Quiet Sense of Unity - Portraits and Still Lifes", and "Colorful and Somber - I Paint The Landscape". Among them, the oil paintings "Female College Students" and "In Front of the Mirror" during the study period, the theme creations "Hanqiao Miners - The People Who Pioneered the Hundred Days of Red", "Red Rice, Pumpkin Soup", and the still life painting "Crab" and the landscape painting "March" made after the 1980s were all unveiled in the exhibition.
"Mr. Xu Minghua's name is not widely known. However, as long as people who know his art, especially those who have insight in the art world, they all admire him very much when they mention him. "Five years ago, Wu Weishan made a special trip to Yixing to invite him to hold an exhibition, and when he was found on a stone arch bridge in a remote village, the 80-year-old gentleman was still leaning over to sketch the scenery." Today, 90-year-old Mr. Xu Minghua finally felt that he could have a solo exhibition. On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the party, as a people's artist cultivated by the party, he must report to the people with his life's efforts. ”
Tang Yihe, an artist in France, advocates "going to the people"
Walking into Hall 3 on the first floor of the National Art Museum of China, "Toward the Light - Tang Yihe Art Retrospective Exhibition" exhibits 49 paintings and drawings of Tang Yihe from the National Art Museum of China, 4 works from the family collection and precious documents. The exhibition is divided into three chapters: "Seven-Seven Horns, Pioneers of the Times", "Traveling far to the Ocean and Serving the Country with Art", and "Great Love and SelflessNess, Donating Treasures of Charity", which comprehensively show Tang Yihe's exquisite artistic achievements, lofty artistic ideals, fiery patriotic feelings and selfless dedication in his short life.
Tang Yihe exhibition site
Born in Wuchang, Hubei Province in 1905, Tang Yihe went to France in the spring of 1931 to study work-study, and was admitted to the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he won the "Rome Prize" of the academy. In 1933, Tang Yihe, Chang Shuhong, Qin Xuanfu, Lu Sibai, Zeng Zhushao, Wang Linyi and others initiated the establishment of the "Travel to France Fine Arts Association", and returned to China after graduating in the winter of 1934. On March 24, 1944, Tang Yihe and his eldest brother Tang Yijing took a boat to Chongqing to participate in the "All China Art Association", but unfortunately died due to the capsizing of the riverboat, at the age of 39. In June of the same year, the All-China Art Society held the "Exhibition of Tang Yihe's Remains" in Chongqing.
Wu Weishan introduced that Tang Yihe was one of the representative figures of the art world in the early work-study movement in France. "This experience of the older generation of benevolent people going to France to study not only accelerated the process of learning the strengths of the West in all fields of Chinese society at that time and using them for their own use, but also made historic contributions to Sino-French friendship. Among the predecessors who repaid the country with art, Mr. Tang Yihe made indelible contributions to the history of Chinese art in the 20th century with his character, learning and art. ”
"Going to the folk" is Mr. Tang Yihe's artistic creation proposition. The classic works he left behind, such as "The Horn of Seven-Seven", "Female Guerrilla", and "Ancestors and Grandchildren", express his deep love for the motherland and sympathy for the working people, which not only permeate the artist's artistic proposition of facing reality and paying attention to the people, but also reflect his belief in moving forward courageously towards the light. "The Horn of Seven Seven" is one of Tang Yihe's most important masterpieces, and it is also the first oil painting of the "History Of the War of Resistance Against Japan" that he planned to create. On the picture, a literary and art propaganda team composed of students is walking on the streets to carry out anti-Japanese propaganda to save the dead, showing the spiritual outlook of the enthusiastic young people of that era and inspiring more young people to throw themselves into the anti-Japanese torrent.
The two book confidants "reunited" at the art museum
In the canal hall on the fourth floor, more than 20 calligraphy works of right and second grade are exhibited in the "Exhibition of Calligraphy of Right Ren and Senior Second Grade". These two book masters lead the way with different styles of books, they come from different origins, have different circumstances, and have different teachers and methods, but they have achieved outstanding achievements in their respective fields of exploration.
Yu Youren was a 20th-century politician, educator, and calligrapher. His calligraphy is written into the grass with a stele, melting and casting hundreds of families, forming a majestic and mellow, dashing and natural artistic style, known as the "Three Plains Grass Sage". He founded the Standard Cursive Society, which made a systematic and standardized summary of the cursive writing of the past generations, and established the cursive writing standard, benefiting future generations and making great contributions.
The second year of high school is a famous scholar, poet and calligrapher of the 20th century, who is a scholar of Chinese culture, Xiaochang Zhouyi, poetry, and academics, and is especially good at calligraphy. He wrote the article "Refutation of the Authenticity and Falsity of the Lanting Preface", argued with Guo Moruo that the "Lanting Preface" was not fake, and Chairman Mao Zedong approved the publication of the article of the second degree of high school with "pen and ink lawsuits, better than nothing", which caused great repercussions in the literary world.
Yu Right is in his 20s, and the two are friends. The second year of high school was supposed to give more than ten poems at the Dragon Boat Festival and Chongyang Festival in 1947, which shows that the friendship between the two has a long history. Through this exhibition, the audience can not only witness the reunion of the calligraphy art of Yu Ren and the second year of high school at the National Art Museum of China, but also further appreciate the charm of calligraphy art in the 20th century.
The Winter Olympic Exhibition will be held as a portrait of Olympic champions
In addition to the above three new exhibitions, during the upcoming New Year's Day holiday, the audience can also enjoy exhibitions such as "Wind Blowing the Earth - Wang Jianguo Oil Painting Exhibition", "Dan Lacquer With Dreams - Art Exhibition of Lacquer Paintings collected by the National Art Museum of China", "Jingtang Mohua - Hong Houtian Calligraphy Art Exhibition", "Like a Mirror Taking Pictures - The Wonderful Divine Shape - The National Art Museum of China, the Nanjing Museum Collection of Ming and Qing Portraits", "Only Faith Immortals Have This Strange - Chen Shuren Painting Exhibition" and other exhibitions, leaving the old and welcoming the new in an artistic atmosphere.
Wu Weishan introduced that as the first major exhibition next year, the National Art Museum of China Collection Revitalization Series Exhibition "Welcoming the Winter Olympics: Beauty is Chasing Dreams - Exhibition of Fine Art Works on Sports Themes collected by the National Art Museum of China" will exhibit more than 100 works in the collection, including Chinese paintings, oil paintings, printmaking, sculptures, photography and other works of art, including the award-winning works of previous national art exhibitions. "During the exhibition, there will also be an event to paint portraits of Olympic champions, and these live portraits will also be included in the exhibition."
In addition, around the Spring Festival, the National Art Museum of China will hold the 9th Beijing International Biennale. From 22 March to 10 May, there will be an exhibition of Uruguayan art. Next year, the National Art Museum of China will also focus on organizing creation and planning to host the "Celebration of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China" and the "Long March Theme Art Works Exhibition", raising the banner with beauty, gathering people's hearts and minds, and inheriting the red gene.
Source Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Li Li Yan Tong
Edited by Jin Liwei
Process Editor Liu Weili