Gexianglan Painting Collection

Author: Ge Xianglan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Mr. Xianglan is a person who takes art very seriously. In his personal dictionary, there are no words like "chance" or "shortcut." At the age of 15, he entered the Shanghai Art College with outstanding achievements. However, he deeply understands the meaning of "reviving the old to create the new" and, with extraordinary diligence, observed and copied famous paintings from ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad. Taking the subject of painting horses as an example, he started with Li Gonglin, learning and mastering the traditional techniques of painting horses in Chinese painting throughout history. He studied the artistic essence of the Tang Dynasty's Six Horses of Emperor Taizong, and even drew inspiration from oil paintings and sculptures of the horses of Joan of Arc, Peter the Great, Napoleon, and others abroad. Through rigorous exploration and extensive absorption, Mr. Xianglan's horses in his works stand tall and come alive, earning Guo Moruo's praise as "the modern Cao Ba, renowned in his time." To paint a horse is to paint its spirit; casual brushwork is not achieved through mere casualness. Even after the liberation, when he had already gained fame, he still traveled to the arduous northwest regions to make long-term field sketches of fine horse breeds. Therefore, the horses in Mr. Xianglan's works are truly spirited, every stroke has its origin, and they withstand scrutiny and reflection. Undoubtedly, this is the result of his long-term rigorous dedication to art. Mr. Xianglan is a person of high moral character. Born in the chaotic late Qing Dynasty and raised during times of national turmoil, his family was filled with patriotic martyrs like Ge Gongzhen and Ge Baoquan, who fought for the survival of the nation. Mr. Xianglan also took up brushes as weapons and inkpots as battlefields, actively participating in the anti-Japanese struggle. In 1932, the "January 28th War" broke out in Shanghai, where the people resisted the Japanese invaders. Mr. Xianglan, with fervent passion, drew and published a series of propaganda posters depicting the anti-Japanese struggle of the military and civilians, praising the patriotic spirit of the people of Shanghai and urging them to fight the anti-Japanese battle to the end. For this, he first endured great dangers to escape the search of the Japanese military police. Later, when the Japanese authorities offered him a high salary to draw pictures for their indoctrination education, he firmly refused. His national spirit, indifferent to hunger and cold and fearless of life and death, was paramount. Mr. Xianglan embodies the unyielding backbone and pure heart of a Chinese intellectual. The horses he painted in his lifetime were mostly unbridled, without saddles or halters, free from restraint, standing tall and roaming independently—a subtle metaphor for his noble character. Mr. Xianglan was a person who was willing to dedicate his art to the times and the people. His talent for painting was well-known, and his achievements in art were also admired by the world. He could have been a pure artist, living a leisurely and free life! However, with a sense of social responsibility, he did not want to be a trendy, empty-handed artist but believed that art should serve society in a practical way. Therefore, he chose educational posters as his lifelong career. In the 1930s and 1950s, when the means of art education were monotonous and superficial, this was indeed a highly meaningful and influential work. Mr. Xianglan had a deep affection for educational posters and considered them as precious as life. In his later years, he was responsible for drawing illustrations for the biological and agricultural sections of the Cihai (Comprehensive Dictionary). All the illustrations were created in the traditional line drawing style, a pioneering effort that was both simple yet challenging. For an illustration that was not overly complex, he would revise it multiple times—sometimes as many as twenty or thirty times, far beyond the nine drafts and one final version. Even when the experts who wrote the text entries approved of his work, if he felt it was not good enough, he would insist on redoing it. Self-imposed pressure, meticulousness, dedication, and striving for excellence—his conscientious attitude was often praised and recognized by his colleagues in the Cihai editorial office at the time. Mr. Xianglan was an outstanding Chinese painter. His determination in his youth and his extensive learning later made him possess exceptional talent and extraordinary expressive ability in Chinese painting. He excelled in painting mammals, birds, grasshoppers, fish, flowers, landscapes, and figures, with a unique elegance and refined charm. In painting mammals, he accurately depicted tigers, leopards, lions, elephants, cattle, sheep, dogs, pigs, monkeys, deer, squirrels, pandas, camels, and more, with precise shapes and vibrant spirits. He captured the majesty of tigers, the fierceness of lions, the innocence of cattle, and the loyalty of dogs, bringing them to life while revealing their approachability and joy as friends of humanity. Indeed, painting horses was the theme that Mr. Xianglan pursued throughout his life. The loyalty, courage, and resilience of horses symbolized the character and ideals he pursued. He always infused his horses with humanistic spirit. His horses were skilled in both brushwork and freehand painting—brushwork that did not diminish their grace; freehand painting that did not harm their nature. This was a true innovation based on tradition. Through his meticulous observations of horses in life, he could accurately portray their dynamic poses—running, standing, lying down, rolling—and vividly express their spiritual essence—melancholy, vigor, sorrow, and joy. With a long neigh to the clear wind, they seemed to soar to the heavens. In this way, he fully captured the posture and temperament of horses, painting horses with the elegance of a master, a feat that few geniuses in history could match. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that experts have ranked Mr. Xianglan among the top horse painters of China in the 20th century, alongside the great Bihong, and called them "North Xu, South Ge."