"The First Voice of the Art Renaissance"

In the history of modern Chinese art, Xu Beihong is an important founder and one of the well-known modern painters.

Xu Beihong's former residence in Nanjing is located at No. 4 Fu Hougang in Xuanwu District, which was once a gathering place for cultural elites and celebrities. Xu Beihong's residence was built in 1932 with a construction area of about 200 square meters, and Xu Beihong once named this place "Dangerous Nest". There is a statue of Xu Beihong in front of the house, he was born in Yixing, Jiangsu Province in 1895, studied painting with his father Xu Dazhang since childhood, entered Aurora University in 1916 to study French, and went to France to study in 1919 with a publicly-funded qualification, becoming the first person to study abroad at public expense in Chinese art. At the beginning of 1928, after returning from abroad, Xu Beihong, Tian Han and others jointly organized the Nanguo Art Academy in Shanghai. In the early summer of that year, he went to teach at the Art Department of Central University (now the Academy of Fine Arts of Nanjing Normal University) and began to earn a steady income. In 1929, Xu Beihong moved from Shanghai to Nanjing, first living in a small building in Shi Po Po Lane, and then moving to the Central University Teachers' Dormitory on Danfeng Street a few months later. Due to the cramped room and the lack of a separate studio, he often lay on the floor to paint in order to paint large-scale works. In 1931, in order to improve the living and painting conditions, Xu Beihong, with the help of friends, purchased two acres of wasteland in Fu Hougang and began to build a new house. With the completion of Fu Hougang's house, Xu Beihong and his wife had a long-term and stable residence, ending their life since they went out to study. As a result, Xu Beihong also has a studio designed according to his own painting needs.

The interior of the former residence displays an exhibition of Xu Beihong's artistic life, showing his life's artistic activities and artistic creations in the form of pictures and texts. Xu Beihong was well versed in the essence of the Chinese painting tradition, but he believed that overemphasizing the literati painting with similar forms was not conducive to the development of painting art.

In the exhibition hall on the first floor, I quickly noticed the sketch of "After Returning to Me", created in 1928, and the oil painting "After Returning to Me" was completed in the Nanjing studio many years later. "Meaning, waiting for our virtuous king, we will be rescued when he comes. The painting depicts men, women and children under the drought, in the barren fields, with their necks raised to the sky, reflecting the urgency of looking at the clouds in the midst of the great drought. The exhibition hall does not display the whole picture of the paintings, but the sketches reflect Xu Beihong's artistic ideas, he once proposed that sketches are the foundation of all plastic arts, and have had a great influence on the history of art.

Another important work of Xu Beihong from the same period, "Tianheng Five Hundred Scholars", is displayed in its entirety. According to the "Historical Records", after Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, became emperor, Tian Heng, the king of Qi, led 500 of his subordinates to flee to the island, Liu Bang sent people to surrender, Tian Heng pretended to accept it, but on the way to kill himself, 500 of his subordinates committed suicide immediately after learning about it. The painting takes the scene of Tian Heng saying goodbye to the five hundred heroes, Tian Heng in the picture is saying goodbye to the strong men, his expression is resolute and resolute, showing unyielding heroic spirit. It is said that when Xu Beihong created this painting, he first collected majestic and majestic people as "models" in his daily life, sketched their outlines with sketches, accumulated several years of work, and finally combined these materials to complete this huge painting. After Xu Beihong returned from Europe, he saw the decline in the country at that time, he hated the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang, and also felt that some people in the intellectual circles at that time catered to the reactionaries and lost the integrity of patriots. In this work, Xu Beihong highlights the independent personality of the Chinese who are "mighty and unyielding".

"After Returning to Me" and "Tian Heng Five Hundred Scholars" are Xu Beihong's attempts to combine realist oil painting with traditional Chinese themes, and are the early practice and exploration of the nationalization of oil painting, which reflect the realism of Xu Beihong's oil paintings. For example, "Tian Heng Five Hundred Scholars" conveys a strong sense of strength through the artistic portrayal of Tian Heng's image, which is of great practical significance for stimulating the sense of historical responsibility of the Chinese people in a time of national crisis. When these two works participated in the Central Art Exhibition in Nanjing, they were called the "first sound of art revival" in the mainland. After that, Xu Beihong went to Europe in 1933 to hold art exhibitions, which were held in France, Italy, Germany, the Soviet Union and other places, and achieved great success. During this period, he also held solo exhibitions in Brussels and Berlin, which were crowded with visitors and received good reviews from the press and art circles.

During his stay in Nanjing, Xu Beihong was not only interested in artistic creation and exchanges, but also very concerned about the protection of historical and cultural heritage. In 1927, after the Nationalist Government set the capital of Nanjing, there were some departments to apply for the use of Ming city wall bricks to build office buildings, when it was learned that the Nationalist Government agreed to demolish part of the Ming City Wall, Xu Beihong, who was also a member of the Nanjing Antiquities Preservation Committee, immediately objected, and publicly published the article "Thoughts on the Demolition of Nanjing", the Ming City Wall was regarded as "the world's first-class masterpiece", and vigorously stated its dual value of art and history, his appeal was responded to by all parties, and in 1929, the Nationalist Government ordered to stop demolishing the city. In addition, Xu Beihong has publicly criticized the Nationalist government for not attaching importance to art on several occasions and called for the construction of the National Art Museum. In the context of the difficulties of construction materials and funds at that time, Xu Beihong still advocated the preservation of historical and cultural relics and the development of art, which was closely related to his cognition of culture and art. In January 1935, he devoted himself to organizing an art society with his colleagues in the art world, believing that the revival of Chinese culture should be of equal importance to the rejuvenation of the nation.

Entering the second floor, you can see that the large structure such as the beams of the former residence has been basically preserved, and the lower beams have been reinforced, and the east side of the second floor is arranged as a studio, surrounded by windows on three sides, and the sun is abundant. On the west side is a continuation of the exhibition, introducing Xu Beihong's artistic life after leaving Nanjing. In 1937, due to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Central University decided to move to Chongqing, and Xu Beihong arranged for his family to move with the university. In 1939, Xu Beihong was invited by Rabindranath Tagore to give lectures at the International University of India and hold a solo exhibition. In 1942, he organized the China Academy of Art in Chongqing and served as its president. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he did not return to Nanjing, but went to serve as the principal of the National Beiping Art College in 1946. In January 1949, Xu Beihong attended the symposium of professors from major universities in Beiping (now Beijing) convened by Fu Zuoyi, at that time it was the most critical time for the peace negotiations in Beiping, Fu Zuoyi raised the question of where to go in Beiping to the cultural circles attending the meeting, Xu Beihong was the first to stand up and speak, saying: "Beiping is a well-known ancient cultural capital at home and abroad, and this famous city can be preserved without war. Other professors expressed their favor in favor of protecting the cultural relics of Peiping and opposed the war. To a certain extent, this forum prompted Fu Zuoyi to make up his mind to sign a preliminary agreement on the liberation of Beiping. After the peaceful liberation of Beiping, Xu Beihong was elected chairman of the All-China Artists Association, and soon became the president of the National Academy of Fine Arts (later named the Central Academy of Fine Arts), making important contributions to the art education of New China.

After visiting the exhibition, I really felt the tranquility and comfort brought by this spacious house and garden, and why did Xu Beihong name it "Dangerous Nest"? Thinking of the era when it was built, at a time when the country and the nation were in turmoil, Xu Beihong's name has a deep meaning, just as he said, "The ancients had the training of being prepared for danger in times of peace, and when they were in a disaster and turmoil, they dared to forget the danger, which is the meaning of the name." At this moment, I think of the couplet "Monojudice, Insist on Going His Own Way" hanging in Xu Beihong's studio for a long time, and I deeply feel that this artist who insists on "prejudice" and "solitary behavior" has never left his concern for reality.