2019-06-04
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ABSTRACTAs a deepening of the curatorial theory of the exhibition “Pioneering: Chinese Artists Abroad in France and Chinese Modern Art (1911-1949)”, this thesis aims to investigate the artists who studied abroad in France and chose to develop Chinese art from the traditional to the modern at the historical juncture for Chinese art in the first half of the twentieth century. Both pioneering artists who explored “scientific” pursuit of modernity by Western academic Classicalism,Naturalism,Realism and those who held more closely to various Western modernistic schools with “democratic” pursuit of modernity have collectively facilitated the modernization of Chinese art in the first half of the twentieth century, shaped and developed the basic aspect of the twentieth-century Chinese art. Key wordsChinese artists abroad in France;Modernity;Twentieth-century Chinese artStudying abroad(including study tour)was one of the most notable phenomena in Chinese history, particularly cultural history, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. China’s modern study abroad movement began at the end of the nineteenth century targeting at Japan. Around the year 1906, Qing government started to officially send a few young people to study in Europe and America. After this, from the late Qing dynasty to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, there were many students who traveled abroad on government scholarships or their own funds. They energetically studied political, economic, military, intellectual, cultural, and artistic subjects. After they returned to China, they dedicated their immense energies and made great contributions, becoming pioneers and founders in many fields.In the field of fine arts, the core destination of the study abroad wave was Paris, France. Wang Jiuru and Wu Fading [1] both transferred to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1911, marking the pioneering journey of artists who studied in France [2]. Following their steps, a few self-funded young students such as Li Chaoshi [3] and Fang Junbi [4] went to France. In 1915, Cai Yuanpei founded the “Work-Study Program” in France with Wu Zhihui, Li Shizeng and Wu Yuzhang to organize and advocate studying in Europe and America. After that, the number of students studying in France surged including self and public-funded, half-work-half-study students. Lin Fengmian was one of the first wave of half-work-half-study artists in France. In 1919 the Beiyang Government specifically allocated one government-funded quota to overseas study in the major of fine arts for the first time. Xu Beihong obtained the quota and became the first government-funded overseas student - although this quota was obtained with the help of Cai Yuanpei. With historical mission endued by the times and himself, Xu Beihong began his “art for life's sake” pursuit in France. He believed Southern School painting was the reason of the decadence of Chinese painting, and the way to improve and save the declining Chinese painting [5] is realistic painting, which can be expected as a way out from traditional to modern art. The “realistic painting” Xu Beihong promoted was the “realism” in Chen Duxiu’s “Art Revolution ( an answer to Lu Cheng’s letter )” ( Lu Cheng’s letter was published in the journal New Youth on 15th [1] December 1918) issued in New Youth’s Volume 6, No. 1 edition on 15th January 1919, which may be the first appeal to improve Chinese painting with Western Realism. [6]In October the same year, a little earlier than Chen Duxiu’s article, Cai Yuanpei emphasized at the speech of the second class of the just founded Society of Painting in Peking University: “ I have two hopes for painting, one is to practice painting from life, the other is to keep on painting. Chinese and Western painting are different from the beginning. One starts Chinese painting by copying the previous, while Western painting by drawing from life…now our generation should use scientific methods…to create art.” [7]Xu Beihong was invited to be the teacher of watercolor painting at Society of Painting in Peking University at that time. To grasp the "the techniques already invented” mentioned in his article, which is the “scientific methods” in Cai Yuanpei’s words, Xu Beihong sailed across the seas to study Academic Realism at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts for eight years.[8] After returning in September 1927, he actively participated in creating oil paintings of history theme in great scale in response to Cai Yuanpei’s urge of using “scientific method” to create China’s own history paintings; on the other hand, he devoted his life to aesthetic education, teaching young students in public and private art schools all around the country to promote realistic pedagogy. At the same time, following the example of Cai Yuanpei’s recommendation, he recommended repeatedly multiple young students to the Republic of China Government for chances to study art in France, England, and America. Besides, with his personal impact and influential activities, a large number of like-minded people were engaged to rally around him, forming the “Xu Beihong system”. The academic realism he pursued can be seen as the response of the art circle to the beliefs in “Science” and “Democracy” in the New Culture Movement.During the New Culture Movements that began in 1915, Chen Duxiu brought forward: “Chinese people who want to get rid of ignorance…should attach equal importance to science and human rights.”[9] He vividly personified “Democracy” and “Science” as “Mr. De” and “Mr. Sai”, [10] and strengthened “ Only these two gentlemen, can dispel all the darkness in politics, academia and thought.” [11] Thus a group of social elites represented by Chen Duxiu not only raised the concept of “Democracy” and “Science” since the Revolution of 1911 to a self-conscious value, but also related it to the rise and fall of the country. In particular, “Democracy”is about resisting despotism and monarchy, to enlighten the people to be their own masters instead of physical or mental slaves, and to realize individual liberation and spiritual freedom. “Science” is about revolving against old moral and ethic values, against blind feudal obedience, to promote positivist and empirical philosophy, which is “Shi Li”in Chen Duxiu’s words whose focus is on rationality.As China's historical choice after its abandoning of the traditional society, the beliefs in “Science” and “Democracy” signaled the revolutionary change in the first half of the twentieth century, which is regarded as the symbol of modernization in China. In face of the time of turmoil, Xu Beihong chose the path of “saving the nation by science” to be the guiding ideology of his artistic exploration. However, although he said that he was “firmly going on a lonely path”, there is a large number of companions that went with him. There were some artists who were also inclined to academic naturalism like Xu Beihong, such as Li Jinfa, Li Fengbai, Lu Sibai, Wu Zuoren, Wang Linyi, Liu Kaiqu, Xiao Shufang, Han Leran, Xie Touba, Qin Xuanfu, Tang Yihe, Lu Xiaguang, Hu Shanyu, Zeng Zhushao, Wang Ziyun, Hua Tianyou, Zhang Chongren, Li Ruinian, Liao Xinxue, Huang Juesi; and Wu Fading who had practiced naturalism before Xu Beihong; and other artists who were inclined to academic neo-classicism, such as Wang Rujiu, Guo Yinglin, Chang Shuhong and so on. These artists who studied abroad followed precise, rational, and “Scientific” academic realistic plastic arts system, to explore the language of oil painting while experiencing new painterly representation of the world that differs from traditional Chinese painting, which was to reflect the reality with comparative precision and objectivity, rather than only “expressing feelings” in Southern School painting. To some extent they achieved the vision brought forward by Kang Youwei, Cai Yuanpei, Xu Beihong and Chen Duxiu in the first decade of the twentieth century to improve traditional Chinese painting with western naturalism. The artists that followed the western systematic naturalist modeling languages such as scientific proportion, perspective, spatial effect, volume, materiality, color tone, and representation of details to improve traditional Chinese painting, was represented by Xu Beihong, whose “ink and color painting” and “nocturne” concepts , revival of traditional Chinese figure painting, transformation of traditional mountains and waters painting to modern landscape painting and exploration of the naturalist modeling language of traditional bird-and-flower paintings and animal paintings provided various possibilities and practicalities for the transformation of traditional Chinese painting into modern art in the first half of the twentieth century.In comparison, Xu Beihong’s classmate at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts Lin Fengmian [12], responding to the call of the time and himself, favored the value “art for art’s sake”. He was not obsessed with the “Science” of academic naturalism. Instead, He was more interested in “Democracy”: He was obsessed with Western modernist genres outside the academy. In his opinion, these genres enabled artists to fully communicate human emotions, which is the core of his obsession with art. Through his whole life, he had been pursuing the ideas that “ Art is the expression of emotions”. This is owing to the education of his tutor Yancesse in Dijon, [14] and his first German wife Roda[2] , his education concept inherited from Cai Yuanpei which highlights “academic freedom and diversity”, and his own characters. Because these genres valued artists’ unique life experiences and artistic expressions, the absolute respect for individuality and the freedom in expressing personality were the keys to the artists’ fascination with modernism genres. The respect and the freedom also illustrated the value “democracy” perfectly. [3] According to the black-and-white pictures in early literature, Lin Fengmian created some large oil paintings from 1924 to 1927, such as Exploration , The History of Mankind, Humanity, The Folk, and so on. The themes and subjects were filled with a sense of poignant history, ardent care for reality, wild strokes and fauvist colors, the form of cubism, [15] the expressiveness and representation of German Expressionism. Plus Lin Fengmian’s unique tremendous momentum and honest emotions, his works had impressed Cai Yuanpei greatly. Cai Yuanpei spoke highly of Lin Fengmian. It should be noted that only on Lin Fengmian Cai saw the perfect practitioner of his “replacing religion with aesthetic education” theory. Cai eagerly invited 25-year-old Lin Fengmian, who at the time was still pursuing his study, back to be the the director of the Beiping Art School, and entrusted him with important posts one after another. During his period at the Hangzhou Art School, Lin adhered to Cai Yuanpei’s “academic freedom and diversity” educational concept, gathered and cultivated numerous artistic talents, making Hangzhou the key position for communicating and practicing Western modernist genres. Those who shared a close relationship with Lin Fengmian and the Hangzhou Art School include Wu Dayu and Zhao Wuji who were inclined to abstract art, Wu Guanzhong who pursued formal aesthetics, Lei Guiyuan who was after the École de Paris, and Hu Shanyu and Dong Xiwen [16] who sought after excellence in the purity of the language of oil painting.As mentioned above, on the second class of the Society of Painting in Peking University, Cai Yuanpei emphasized the ideal of creating art with scientific approach of western naturalism, which was achieved by a group of academic neo-classicist and naturalist artists represented by Xu Beihong. Cai Yuanpei believed that “The most popular expressionism today is close to the Chinese expressionism.” [17] The expressionism here mainly referred to Post Impressionism, Fauvism, École de Paris and German Expressionism. Besides Lin Fengmian, Liu Haisu also highly agreed with with Cai Yuanpei’s art view.After founding the first ever private art school in China in 1912, Liu Haisu had made a dramatic and lasting impact in Shanghai through art education, artistic creation and social activities. To some extent, Shanghai in 1920s and 1930s can be named as Liu Haisu’s time, or more accurately speaking, the time of Impressionism, Post-impressionism, Fauvism and Cubism promoted by Liu Haisu. At that time Liu Haisu had only done a brief research on Japanese modern art and had not yet been to France. However, he had read extensive art journals and came in contact with the most popular and the most avant-garde schools of painting, including Impressionism, Post-impressionism, Fauvism and Cubism. Cai Yuanpei had a deep understanding of Liu Haisu’s work. In 1922, he complimented that “Mr. Liu’s work was inclined to Post-impressionism. He was particularly obsessed with depicting outdoor light. His art was intuitive and natural,” and “profoundly expressing his unique characters,” which is “very strong”, and he “always expressed himself subjectively”. [18] Ni Yide shared the same opinions.In February 1929, Cai Yuanpei won over a chance for Liu Haisu to go on a research tour in Europe in the name of Researcher for the Ministry of Education. Unlike other artists on tour, Liu Haisu went for art exchanges as an accomplished master-grade “visiting scholar” instead of a student. His landscape oil paintings from 1929 to 1931 had obvious Impressionist, Post-impressionist and Fauvist style; many of which were sketches from life in the perspective some of his favorite modernist artists. [19]After returning from Europe, Liu Haisu devoted himself to writing Xi Hua Yuan, which systematically introduced western modernist genres and especially spoke highly of Post-impressionism and Fauvism. The book was good at comparing western modernist genres with ancient traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting. Such comparison was also frequently used by Cai Yuanpei. Through the entire decade of the 1930s, Liu Haisu gained a larger variety of followers in Shanghai, further promoting the development and acceptance of the modernist genres that went popular outside the French academy in Shanghai.Pang Xunqin, who was keen on cubism, the “Storm Society” that focused on the exploration of formal language, Zhang Xian who was passionate about the École de Paris, Pan Yuliang and Tang Yunyu who explored impressionism, Li Chaoshi who mastered pastel picture, and Zhou Bichu who was obsessed with Divisionism, all had a close relationship with Liu Haisu and the city of Shanghai.In general, Chinese artists abroad in France in the first half of the twentieth century, had not only accepted “scientific” western education on neo-classicism, naturalism, and realism, but also brought back “democratic” western modernist genres. They had brought new categories and ideas such as oil paintings (western paintings), sculptures, sketches, toner paintings and watercolor paintings to the Chinese art of the early twentieth century, and even new lifestyles connected with these ideas, thereby becoming one of the most important groups active in China, and laying a great foundation to the development Chinese art in the first half of the twentieth century.As mentioned above, at this historical juncture for Chinese art in the first half of the twentieth century, the artists who studied abroad in France chose to develop Chinese art from the traditional to the modern, thereby becoming the pioneers and practitioners of modernist culture in twentieth-century Chinese art. They were the founders and predecessors of Chinese art’s shift from tradition to modernity. Both the artists who explored the “Scientific” approach of western classicism, realism, and naturalism and the artists who held more closely to the western “Democratic" modernism ended up at the same destination, successfully pushed forward the development of modernism of Chinese art of the first half of the twentieth century, and the shaping and transformation of the twentieth-century Chinese art. Notes:[1] In 1906, Wang Rujiu was sent to study the army as one of the first officials sent by the Beiyang Accelerated Military Academy of the Qing government. In 1911, he gave up military studies and transferred to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the Burdell Sculpture Studio to study oil painting and sculpture. Wu Fading was sent to France to study law in 1911, and in the same year transferred to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts to study oil painting.[2] This is why the year in the exhibition title “Pioneering: Chinese Artists Abroad in France and Chinese Modern Art (1911-1949)” (hereinafter referred to as the Exhibition) is 1911, rather than the first year of the Republic of China, which was 1912. Of course, from the perspective of history, 1911 is also very important due to the Revolution of 1911, especially the concept of “democracy” and “science” inspired by the the Revolution of 1911 is closely related to this exhibition and this article. To the author’s delight, the division of history and art history into periods coincide with each other perfectly in the monographic study of this exhibition.[3] In 1912, Li Chaoshi enrolled in the Sellman School of Painting[4] in Paris, France, and then transferred to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts.[4] In 1912, Fang Junbi was admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux in France. In 1919, she was admitted to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts together with Xu Beihong.[5] Xu Beihong gave a speech on “The Method of Improving Chinese Painting” on May 14, 1918 at the Society of Painting in Peking University. Xu Beihong's speech was shown in the Journal of Peking University on May 23, 24 and 25 consecutively with appendix added. [6] At the beginning of his article, Chen Duxiu said: “If we want to improve Chinese painting, we must first revolutionize the Four Wangs. In order to improve Chinese painting, the realistic spirit of foreign paintings could not be left aside.” At the end of the paper, Chen put forward “...if you do not overthrow it (here referred to the Four Wangs), it would be the greatest obstacle to introducing realism and improving Chinese painting.”[7] Quoted from: Zhao Li, Yu Ding (ed.), “Chinese Oil Painting Literature”, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 2002, p. 413. [8] Xu Beihong's works such as “Family Portrait of Yang Zhongzi” and “Sound of the Flute” in this exhibition are typical examples.[9] Quoted from the first volume of Selected Works of Chen Duxiu, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2009, p.162.[10] Mr. De: abbreviation of “Democratic” in Chinese; Mr. Sai: Abbreviation of “Science” in Chinese.[11] Selected Works of Chen Duxiu, vol. 2, p. 10.[12] At the end of 1918, Lin Fengmian came to Paris with the half-work-half-study group. In February 1920, he entered the École nationale supérieure d'art de Dijon in France. In September 1920, he transferred to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and was in Fernand Cormon[5] 's studio with Xu Beihong.[13] Lin Fengmian believes in Tolstoy's theory that “art is the expression of human emotions”, and Cai Yuanpei's theory that “replacing religion with aesthetic education”, which constituted his basic artistic view. This is elaborated in his long article “To the National Art Circle” published in 1927. [14] In 1920, Lin Fengmian entered the École nationale supérieure d'art de Dijon to study oil painting. The academy’s director Yancesse appreciated him, told him not to learn only the academic way, especially not to become a member of the academism. [15] In terms of color application and tone processing, it can be seen from the “Thought”, which is also known as “Grief thought”in the exhibition of “ Chinese Artists Abroad in France” in 1926. This painting depicts the first wife of Lin Fengmian, Roda, a German girl. They met in Germany in 1924 and soon fell in love and got married. However, Roda died of puerperal fever in 1925. Lin Fengmian was very sad for a long time. This work should be created by Lin Fengmian based on his memory shortly after Roda's death. In the painting, Roda closed her eyes, implying that she had passed away. The black and white version of the work was included in the second edition of Chen Baoyi’s The Beauty of the Human Body in 1929, which is a rare early oil painting of Lin Fengmian’s. This work is typically Fauvist, with form of Cubism and representation of German Expressionism.[16] In 1939, Dong Xiwen graduated from the National Art College, which was merged by Peiping Art College and Hangzhou Art College. He was recommended by the academy to study at the Higher School of Fine Arts Paris’s Hanoi branch in Vietnam. He received guidance from French teachers, saw a lot of Western European painting books and original works, and was exposed to the Vietnamese lacquer paintings that are rich in color. Due to the outbreak of the war, Chinese government cut the fund and he was forced to return to China in advance. During his study in Hanoi, Dong Xiwen directly received the training of classicist painting techniques and aesthetic experience of the French academism, which constituted an important factor in the formation of his unique oil painting language and personal style in the future. In June 1946, Dong Xiwen ended his decade of unsettled life and returned to his parents’ home in Hangzhou. Dong painted these two portraits for his parents with the classicist painting techniques he learned from the Paris Art School in Hanoi, Vietnam, in order to express his respect for the elderly parents and nostalgia after the longstanding separation. As Dong Xiwen did not receive French academic classicist education in actual France, he became the only artist in this exhibition who did not set foot in French territory. Dong Xiwen will be included in this exhibition in the hope of arousing in-depth discussions in the academic circle regarding the cultural influence of the artists studying in France from different perspectives. [17] Cai Yuanpei: “Exhibit Catalogue of the Chinese Venue at the Paris Exposition”. Quoted from Jin Ya (ed.), “Literature Collection of Chinese Modern Aesthetics: Cai Yuanpei Volume”, Zhejiang University Press, 2009. [18] Quoted from: Zhao Li, Yu Ding (ed.), “Chinese Oil Painting Literature”, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 2002, p. 448-449.[19] In this exhibition, the painting “Okra” pays tribute to Van Gogh, “ Westminster Sunset ” pays tribute to Monet, while “ Rodin's Model” pays tribute to Matisse. References:Li Zehou, “The History of Chinese Thought”, Anhui Literature and Art Publishing House, 1999Wang Hui, “The Rise of Modern Chinese Thought”, Sanlian Bookstore, 2008Shi Quansheng (ed.), “The Cultural History of the Republic of China”, Jilin Literature and History Publishing House, 1990 Li Zhujin and Wan Qingli, “The History of Modern Chinese Painting”, Zhejiang University Press, 2012Zhao Li, Yu Ding (ed.), Chinese Oil Painting Literature, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 2002Wang Zhen (ed.), “The Chronicle of Xu Beihong”, Shanghai Pictorial Publishing House, 2006 Author | Hongmei (Curator of the “Chinese Artists Abroad in France” Exhibition , associate professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, master student supervisor, director of the Department of Theoretical Publishing of the CAFA Art Museum)The original article was published in Art Research vol.2, 2019
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