He studied under Qi Baishi, was still a classmate of Mao Zedong, served as a professor, sat as a guest, also worked as a coachman, sold tickets to the theater garden; worked as an underground party, and was also criticized; but he still became a master of Chinese painting!
He is Li Kuchan.
Author: Li Kuchan
Name: Plantain double bird diagram
Collection of Qingweilou Fine Arts Museum
Li Kuchan (January 11, 1899 – June 11, 1983), born in Gaotang County, Shandong Province, was a Chinese painter from Gaotang County, Shandong Province. Good at painting flowers and birds, wide brush freehand, pen and ink majestic, free flow, painting style is known for simplicity, majesty and boldness.
In 1918, he became acquainted with the painter Xu Beihong and was awarded western painting techniques.
In 1922, he was admitted to the Western Painting Department of The Peking National Art College to specialize in Western painting, and in 1923, he took Qi Baishi as his teacher, and under the careful cultivation of Qi Baishi, the painting art made great progress. From July 5 to 7, 1941, an exhibition was held in Beiping Zhongshan Park, exhibiting more than 50 works.
He was a professor of Hangzhou Art College, a professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a director of the China Artists Association, and a member of the Academic Committee of the Chinese Academy of Painting.
Mr. Li Kuchan
Mr. Lu Xun said that since ancient times, the Chinese nation has had people who have buried their heads in hard work, there have been people who have worked hard with all their might, there have been people who have sacrificed their lives to seek the law, and there have been people who have asked for the people's lives.
Then Mr. Li Kuchan is worthy of being the backbone of China, and during the War of Resistance Against Japan, he asked for the people's lives and was not afraid of rape. He worked very hard in art, becoming one of the few great painters in 500 years, not an ordinary painter.
What criteria do we evaluate Li Kuchan today?
In the past, Huang Binhong said that for a work of art, it will take about three generations, and according to the Chinese algorithm of calculating the age, three generations will be nearly 100 years, and there will be a more appropriate evaluation of this person's real situation. And Mr. Li Kuchan does not need it, because he is already standing majestically here, we can look at his paintings, look at his works, see if he is a great painter in China who has not been in 500 years, whether he is a man with the spirit of a great husband of the Chinese nation, this is well deserved by Li Kuchan.
"Suffering" is a true portrayal of his real life, but also the first word to obtain the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, "Zen" is to look forward to his future to achieve great achievements in freehand painting, reality and the future blend, shaping the image of Li Kuchan's life.
Author: Li Kuchan
Name: Plum Stone Double Bird
Collection of Qingweilou Fine Arts Museum
Mencius once said that "fullness is beauty", and the painting of bitter Zen is of course beautiful; "the fullness and brilliance is great", and Li Kuchan's painting is "great". Liu Dajun, who studied the I Ching, knew, "Yuan, Daye, Heng, Tongye, Li, Yiye, Zhen, Zhengye", Yuan Henryzhen, Mr. Kuchan have it.
It is not an exaggeration to call Li Kuchan a painting saint. Holy and unknowable, called God. Occasionally there are a few paintings, and the bitter Zen stroke goes down, and it cannot be recovered, which is called the stroke of God. This is the aesthetic point of view that Mencius talked about, and we can get a lot of inspiration when we understand Li Kuchan.
Qi Baishi once commented: "Li Kuchan learns from me is not like me", and inscribed Li Kuchan's painting "Qing Offering": "Li Kuchan has also surpassed me." Playwright Cao Yu commented: "Li Kuchan is a legendary figure.
Life is short, art lasts. This is not to say that there is any art, but that the people affirm. Li Kuchan's paintings are such art." Critic Wang Jinyu praised it as "a model of harmonious unity of human art". The Morning Post also published an article commenting: "Li Kuchan is the pioneer of the creative school in the art world in northern China."
Author: Li Kuchan
Name: Red Lotus Chart
Collection of Qingweilou Fine Arts Museum
Li Kuchan's character is very noble, this is a fact, and no one denies it.
He himself said: "Man must first have a personality, and then he will draw a grid; man has no character, and he has no way to write down" This is indeed the case. The success of Li Kuchan's paintings is due to this.
He is a Shandong native, a righteous person, can be described as a heroic man, he is upright and proud, do not use heart and mind, painting like this.
In terms of the ability to control pen and ink, Li Kuchan is even more outstanding, so he presents a condensed and simple brushwork, which makes people feel the artistic beauty of the clouds and flowing water.
In his later years, Li Kuchan's paintings felt more reverted to the basics, reaching the artistic realm of simplicity and complexity, especially for works with larger canvases, Li Kuchan was more able to wield more freely.
In terms of the inheritance of painting art, Li Kuchan also performed perfectly, and integrated the essence of traditional culture into the creation of Chinese painting, which had a far-reaching influence on future generations of painters.
It is precisely because of the artist's feelings that originate from nature and flow through the brushstrokes that Li Kuchan has left a strong mark in the field of painting creation, and is an example for other painters to learn, and in terms of freehand painting of flowers and birds, Li Kuchan has always been a benchmark person.
Editor: Wen Shuijing
Review: Yang Xiangxiong
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