At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Chinese painting world was shrouded by the painting style of the "Four Kings". At this time, there was a painter who found a new way, using Western painting techniques, light and shade, combined with sketching, to create a new look on his own.
His works are often mellow with brushes, elegant colors, vivid images but not rigid, quite charming, unique in the modern painting world. At the same time, he has a noble character, treats people regardless of poverty and cheapness, and does not ask for anything in return for helping others. He is Cheng Zhang.
Cheng Zhang (1869-1938), male, formerly known as Dezhang and Yaosheng, was originally from Xin'an, Anhui Province, moved to Taixing, Jiangsu, and later lived in Shanghai. Cheng Zhang was born in the last years of the Qing Dynasty. He used to teach at Jiangsu Provincial No. 2 Middle School (Caoqiao Middle School). Ye Shengtao, Gu Jiegang, Wu Hufan, Zheng Yimei and others have all been taught by him. Later, he dressed up and went north to teach at Tsinghua University.
Cheng Zhang's family was poor when he was young, and he once lived in Tai'an, Jiangsu Province with his father to do business. At the age of 9, he was sent to the pawnshop as an apprentice, and at the age of 10, he was able to paint. He is smart and studious, has the ability to study painting theory, and deeply admires Huizhou, the hometown of "the hometown of calligraphy and painting", and is deeply influenced by the styles of Tiandu, Xin'an and other painting schools.
After his father's death, Cheng Zhang used the family inheritance to buy a large number of painting materials, and at the same time, he devoted himself to collecting the works of Xin'an painters. He also collected many Japanese editions of "Naturalist Albums" in order to learn and improve. Later, he went to Changzhou Cuihua School as a teacher of Chinese painting, and then went to Shanghai to teach in Chinese public schools with Song Jiaoren and others.
During his stay in Shanghai, he became acquainted with very active painting organizations such as the "Inscription Pavilion", and often learned skills with Ren Bonian, Wu Changshuo and others, and inspired each other. Ye Shengtao, Gu Jiegang, Wu Hufan, Zheng Yimei and others have all been taught by him. Later, he left Shanghai and went north to teach at Tsinghua University, and Hu Shi was also his student. In his later years, he returned south from Beijing and lived in Shanghai to paint for a living. During this period, I made many friends, such as Feng Menghua, Lu Lianfu, Huang Binhong, Zhao Shuru, He Tianjian, etc.
Although Cheng Zhang was very famous at that time and had a high status in the painting world, he treated people regardless of poverty and poverty, and was deeply touching. Cheng Zhang is frugal and simple, never smokes, does not drink alcohol, and eats no two kinds of meat in his life. Most of the furniture and utensils he uses are purchased from thrift stores, and he likes to help people's urgency, without asking for anything in return, and believes in the concept of "I have a rich heaven and earth, and the blessing should be shared with others".
Cheng Zhang dislikes to associate with rich people who treat money as his life, and often treats them slowly, mocks, or ignores them. One year, in the twilight of his life, a master who often gave him haircuts was in debt for the New Year, so he begged Cheng Zhang to give him a painting. Cheng Zhang immediately unfurled the paper and painted a picture for the shaver. The shaver took the painting to the market and sold it for a good price, not only paid off the debt, but also used the remaining money to buy New Year's goods and go home.
Cheng Zhang's talent is very high, and his ability to paint mostly begins with the people, and he relies on regret and tirelessness, winning over all families, diligent in practicing brushwork, extraordinary understanding, and striding forward. Cheng Zhang is good at landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, animals, etc., and is an all-rounder in painting.
He once said: "The painter places his affection on the element, collects all things at the end, the pen is full of vitality, and the heart travels with the object, so that the viewer can appreciate the elegance and vulgarity." "In his early years, Cheng Zhang studied boneless flowers, learned from others, and had profound traditional painting skills and strict techniques. After middle age, he "changed the method", absorbed the chiaroscuro perspective method of Western painting, and fused the sketching method with traditional brush and ink.
It is said that Cheng Zhang was blind in his later years, although he was cured, he was angry when he encountered something, and then relapsed, and only cured one eye in his old age. Therefore, in his later years, he could not paint, but made a big character, and asked Jiaxing seal carver Zhu Qishi to carve a seal of "blind man riding a blind horse", and put it on the book.
In 1941, the Shanghai Commercial Press Zeng Keluo edition was printed into the "Collection of Mr. Cheng Yaosheng's Posthumous Works", and his student Hu Shizhi inscribed it: Moyuantang also published a photocopy of "Cheng Yaosheng's Album", the cover of the album was inscribed by Tan Yankai, and the preface was made by the socialite Xu Chao. The preface says: "It is a painting that also participates in physics, and studies structure, which is very different from ordinary hands."
Therefore, his paintings of landscapes and mountains are stacked on top of each other, and the weather is myriad; his paintings of ladies and ladies are also true on paper and are about to come out; his paintings of flowers are also fragrant and vivid, and he creates nature wonderfully; and his paintings of animals are all in the shape of Xiaoxiao. The skill is so far, it can be described as a god. ”
His student and famous artist Zheng Yimei praised in the article "Cheng Yaosheng's Innovation in the Painting World": "Even in terms of art, it is enough to be on a par with Ren Bonian, Wu Changshuo, and Xu Beihong. "A teacher is better than a disciple, and this kind of evaluation should not be a lie.
In his paintings, Cheng Zhang is based on Chinese painting, and uses the sketching method and chiaroscuro perspective method of Western painting. He was a figure who combined these two methods relatively well during the Republic of China, and he was also a pioneer in this regard.
This is a kind of "combination of Chinese and Western", but also "elegant and vulgar" painting. Therefore, we can use such a sentence to position him: a pioneer of painting in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China based on Chinese painting and Western painting, and an all-round master who "appreciates both elegance and vulgarity".
Qing Chengzhang "Double Cats Peeping at Fish"
This painting "Two Cats Peeping at Fish" is a masterpiece of Cheng Zhang's later years, this picture was painted in 1930, and the author was 62 years old at the time. The image of the double cat painted is realistic, the pen is fine and smooth, the branches and leaves are sparse, the water is clean and the fish are swimming, and the scenery is bright in the late autumn.
On the basis of traditional painting methods, the painter uses Westernized chiaroscuro perspective and watercolor painting methods, such as the abrupt slope stone on the slope bank, the whole is hooked, dyed and painted with ink, but the top of the first small stone is exposed, which is a typical "highlight" painting method in Western painting. Therefore, the paintings he paints can be colorful, the composition is unique, the scenery is vivid and expressive, and the line is unique.
Cheng Zhang's painting of cats, with pure ancient painting methods, integrated with Western paintings, rewriting God in sketching, simply painting cats alive, if you use a magnifying glass to see, will show the wonder of yin and yang perspective. Jin Tulium inscribed a poem to praise the day: "Jiangxiang scenery season cat, the sea residence is famous." Begging with Chengdu with the Qin Crane, he is pretending to be light. ”