Lifelong confidant-Fu Lei and Huang Binhong's year-old friendship丨China Guardian 2024 Spring Auction

Huang Binhong and Fu Lei and his wife took a group photo

Huang Binhong, Ma Xulun

Lingxiu Rock overlooks, and the book is connected with seven words

Ink and color on paper, ink on paper, vertical scroll, mirror core

69.5×34.5 cm

71.5×15.5 cm

Source: Collected from Mr. Fu Lei's immediate family. Fu Lei (1908-1966), a native of Nanhui, Jiangsu, was a famous Chinese translator, writer, educator, art critic, and one of the important founders of the China Association for the Promotion of Democracy. He is the author of "Fu Lei's Translation Collection". In his early years, he studied at the University of Paris, France. He translated a large number of works into French, including works by Balzac, Romain Rolland, Voltaire and others. In the early 60s of the 20th century, Fu Lei was admitted as a member of the French Balzac Institute for his outstanding contribution to the translation of Balzac's works.

Huang Binhong is deep in Gui Mountain

Mirror heart, ink and color on paper

32×22 cmPublished:

1. Huang Binhong's Paintings, Illustrated No. 27, Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 1985.

2. Huang Binhong's Paintings, Illustrated No. 27, Huazheng Book Company (Taipei), 1987 edition. Source: Collected from Mr. Fu Lei's immediate family.

Huang Binhong

The mountains are deep and the clouds are deep

Mirror heart, ink and color on paper

33.5×22.5 cm

Source: Collected from Mr. Fu Lei's immediate family.

Huang Binhong's Paintings Publication

Lifelong confidant - Fu Lei and Huang Binhong's year-old friend

Huang Binhong

Huang Binhong and Fu Lei first met in the early forties. He promoted Huang Binhong all his life and was an important promoter of Binweng's art. He is a true art critic with a background in Western studies and a deep understanding of traditional culture. He is also the Bole of Binong, and believes that Huang Binhong is not only a master of tradition, but also a pioneer of the future. In the extensive correspondence between the two men, it can be seen that they continue to publish and exchange insights on the traditional Chinese art of painting and calligraphy, and the same artistic views are enough to bridge the dialogue between the two men across the age difference of 43 years. It is precisely because both of them uphold the literary and artistic pursuit of continuing the national spirit, and Fu Lei, inspired by Huang Binhong, has an in-depth understanding of China and the West and the interpretation of national characteristics, which makes the two have a strong resonance in the depths of their souls and become hard-to-find bosom friends.

In 1943, Huang Binhong's 80th Painting Exhibition, formerly Fu Lei and Zhu Meifu

Fu Lei is known for his translations, but he is proud of himself as an art critic, who has translated and written many art texts. According to Mr. Yang Jiang's recollection, he once persuaded Fu Lei to teach at Tsinghua University, but Fu Lei "did not want to teach French, only art history". In the early 40s, Gu Fei introduced the exchange of letters, and Huang Binhong met Gu Fei's cousin, translator and art critic Fu Lei. The main reason for the initial relationship was the change in Fu Lei's aesthetic taste. Fu Lei's extensive background in Chinese and Western studies shows a unique look when he evaluates Huang Binhong's works, which also reflects Fu Lei's artistic ideal of communicating East and West. In 1943, Fu Lei wrote "Answering Questions from Visitors on Paintings" (originally published in "Special Issue of Huang Binhong's Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition"): "Those who read Huang Gong's paintings and are very confused will question Yu Yu. The words of the question and answer are just like the gentleman of the way. He has become a spokesperson for the art of Bing Weng, a lifelong confidant. This article was deeply affirmed by Binong, and he used it as a lecture to teach the theoretical knowledge of calligraphy and painting at the Beiping Art School.

In 1964, Fu Lei was in the study, with Huang Binhong's painting behind him

At that time, Bing Weng's protégé was hindered in organizing his personal painting and calligraphy exhibition. When Fu Lei heard this, he strongly advocated holding a personal exhibition of calligraphy and painting in Shanghai, and took on the responsibility of organizing and publicizing it. In 1943, when Fu Lei held an exhibition of Huang Binhong's paintings, they had not even met officially. The exhibition was initiated by Fu Lei, Gu Fei and Qiu Zhuchang (Gu Fei's husband), who were busy handling various matters. As the chief curator of the exhibition, Fu Lei spared no effort, from being a co-sponsor to contact famous artists in the art world, printing albums, decorating the venue, and greeting guests, to guiding the audience to appreciate the paintings, making on-site guided tours, promoting the sale of paintings, and recording the sales...... Be conscientious and report to Huang Binhong in Beijing.

Fu Lei and Zhu Meifu at their home in Shanghai, 1965

The two have been friends for more than ten years, and they have asked many questions in the middle. In 1943 alone, the two corresponded frequently, discussed painting theory, exchanged high opinions, and had a long private relationship. After Fu Lei wrote his first letter to Huang Binhong to express his reverence, he roughly introduced his interest in art appreciation and main views, and gave a precise and high evaluation of Huang Binhong's works: "It is profound, directly chasing the Song people, and the color with the pen still has a unique face. "Chasing the Song people" is in line with an important artistic pursuit of Huang Binhong's landscape painting creation at that time: chasing the orthodoxy of the Song and Yuan dynasties, Fu Lei's appreciation of Huang Binhong's landscape paintings can be described as a mountain and flowing water, so Huang Binhong had some feelings of harmony when he first came into contact with Fu Lei.

Fu Lei also pointed out that "there are several ends in modern painting in our country", and "the two brushes of Dong Ju mentioned by Mr. are foolish enough to illustrate the techniques of our father, and they are also similar to the Western Impressionism at the end of the last century." He analyzes the color composition of daylight, and understands the reason of light and shade, which is to abandon the rigid light and dark method, and is committed to the performance of light and darkness, and dark and bright, and at the same time uses primary colors to apply color, no longer precedent color mixing, brushwork tends to be vertical and horizontal chaos of the way, myopia almost no object can be found, but the beginning of the scenery from a distance, colorful, wonderful, changing and floating, reaching the extreme, all this, and Dong Beiyuan and my public interest return, seems to have a different way to the same end. It points out the common interests of Eastern and Western art.

He was pleased to find that Huang Binhong, as one of the scholars who best understood the Chinese art tradition in the 20th century, not only did not have an exclusive attitude towards Western art, but also put forward the view that Chinese and Western art have similarities and can be compared with each other. With a clearer direction, I have further discovered all aspects of the connection between Chinese and Western art. Fu Lei also bluntly said in the letter that the reason why Huang Binhong's works can cause him to repeatedly observe and be fascinated is that the pen and ink are different in size, and the realm is therefore different...... There is Huazi in the old age, and there is still aura floating in the thick place...... Two or three straight to 10 million words, which makes people never get tired of watching. It can be seen that Fu Lei can quickly realize the essence and height of Huang Binhong's art when facing Huang Binhong's landscape painting, which is the culmination of traditional cultivation and opens up a new face from sketching.

After Huang Binhong's death in 1955, Fu Lei has been worried about various matters after Huang Binhong's death, including the preservation of artistic heritage, the collation of works, the completion and opening of the memorial hall, and so on. And Huang Binhong has as many as 121 well-preserved Fu Lei books. In his last years, he often mentioned to people that Fu Lei was "a great confidant in his life". Until March 27, 1955, the "Letter to Fu Lei's Family" sadly recorded: "As far as the artist is concerned, we hope that he will live to be 100 years old." Last winter, I was not in good health, I fell in the middle, and I rarely corresponded with him, but I went to Hangzhou in early November, looked at his house for two days in a row, and took pictures for him. I heard that he was still remembering me during his illness, and mentioned me to people who didn't know me. I was very sad to hear it, and on the day I believed it, I didn't sleep well all night. In order to establish the "Huang Binhong Memorial Hall", Fu Lei traveled everywhere and wrote a long letter to Huang Yuan, director of the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Culture and translator on behalf of Song Ruoying, hoping to fully appreciate the importance of Binweng's achievements and the value of his artistic legacy, so that he could gain the respect he deserved. By the end of 1957, the memorial hall was finally opened to the public, and the following year, his collection was officially accepted by the Zhejiang Provincial Museum. Given Fu Lei's status in the cultural world and his close relationship with Huang Binhong. When Chen Shutong published Huang Binhong's manuscript, he also invited Fu Lei to review it. When Wang Jiwen compiled the Annals of Huang Binhong (1961, Hong Kong), he also edited the Binhong Book and asked Fu Lei to write a preface, which also included many letters from Fu Lei.

For Huang Binhong, Fu Lei was the person who could best understand the "inner beauty" of his landscape painting at that time, and it was a rare "Zhongzi period", and for Fu Lei, Huang Binhong was like a dawn in the Chinese painting world at that time, illuminating the way forward of Chinese painting and the hope of the national renaissance.

China Guardian Spring Auction 2024

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