Chen Shuren, Complete Collection of Famous Chinese Painters

Author: Chen Shuren (painter) / Li Weiming (editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-03-01
Features: Chen Shuren (1884–1948) was a modern Chinese painter. His name was Shao, and his courtesy name was Zhe. He also used the pseudonyms Jiaewai Yuzizi, Ershan Shanchao, and De'an Laoren. Born on February 9, 1884, in Panyu County, Guangdong Province, he passed away on October 4, 1948. He was one of the founders of the Lingnan School of Painting. In 1905, he joined the Tongmenghui and followed Sun Yat-sen in his democratic revolution. He published the Guangdong Daily and You Suowei Newspaper to promote revolutionary ideas, demonstrating his dedication as a patriotic and revolutionary figure. In his early years, he studied under the Guangdong flower-and-bird painter Ju Lian and became a classmate of Gao Jianfu. He also met Gao Qifeng, his younger brother, and the three shared a common vision for the reform of Chinese painting, earning them the title of the "Three Great Masters of the Lingnan School." In 1905, he went to Japan and enrolled in the Kyoto Art School to study both Eastern and Western painting. Upon returning to China, he taught at the Guangdong Provincial Normal School and the Guangdong Provincial Higher Normal School. In 1912, he co-founded Zhengxian Huabao with Gao Jianfu and Pan Damwei. In this newspaper, he published his translation of New Painting Methods, which served as an early and accessible textbook introducing Western art history and painting techniques, enlightening readers. He was skilled in poetry and painting, particularly excelling in flower-and-bird and landscape subjects. His 1931 works Lingnan Spring Colors and Cottonwood Tree embodied robustness within grandeur and won the Grand Prize at the International Exposition in Brussels. In his prime years, he often resided in Jiangnan, loving to paint scenes of spring rain, apricot blossoms, and willows, creating vibrant springtime atmospheres. His 1936 work After the Rain captured the freshness of a clear sky after the storm. His landscape paintings, such as Dinghu Waterfall and Willow Waves and Nightingales, were characterized by lush scenery, round and delicate lines, and a light yet spacious composition. In his later years, he traveled deep into Sichuan and created works like Mount Emei Cloud Sea and Qimen Autumn Colors, adopting a more vigorous and sharp style with thick, rough brushwork. Throughout his life, he produced over a thousand paintings, pursuing a serene and refined aesthetic, blending poetry, calligraphy, and painting into one. He published Chen Shuren Paintings (4 volumes), Chen Shuren Recent Works, and Selected Works of Chen Shuren in Chinese Painting, and authored Chun Xiang Tang Poetry Collection, Sai Lü Yincao, Zuan Ai Collection, Ode to Natural Beauty, and War Dust Collection. His works are collected in the National Art Museum of China, the Guangdong Museum, as well as museums in Berlin, Paris, and Moscow. This book compiles over 150 of Chen Shuren's classic paintings and provides a detailed introduction to the life and artistic journey of this representative painter of the Lingnan School. It also includes excerpts from his own art theories, a chronology of his life, and quotes from various reviews of his paintings.