Chen Shuren

Author: Li Weiming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-03-01
Features: Chen Shuren (1884–1948), a modern Chinese painter. Born on February 9, 1884, and died on October 4, 1948. One of the founders of the Lingnan School of Painting. In 1905, he joined the Tongmenghui and followed Sun Yat-sen in democratic revolution, publishing Guangdong Daily and You Suo Wei Bao to promote revolutionary ideas. He was a dedicated patriot and a committed figure in the democratic revolution. In his early years, he studied under the Guangdong flower-and-bird painter Ju Lian and became a classmate of Gao Jianfu, meeting his younger brother Gao Qifeng. The three shared a vision for reforming Chinese painting and were known as the "Three Great Masters of Lingnan." In 1905, he studied at Kyoto Art School in Japan, learning both Eastern and Western painting. Upon returning to China, he taught at Guangdong Provincial Normal School and Guangdong Provincial Higher Normal School. In 1912, he co-founded Zhengxian Huabao with Gao Jianfu and Pan Damwei, publishing his translated work New Painting Method in the journal. This served as an early introductory textbook on Western art history and painting techniques, enlightening readers. He was skilled in poetry and painting, particularly excelling in flower-and-bird and landscape paintings. His works Lingnan Spring Colors and Cottonwood Tree (1931), which combined robustness with grandeur, won the Grand Prize at the International Exhibition of Belgium. In his prime, he often resided in Jiangnan, loving to paint spring rain, apricot blossoms, and willows, creating vibrant spring scenes. His painting After the Rain (1936) captured the freshness of a clear sky after rain. His landscape paintings, such as Dinghu Waterfall and Willow Waves and Nightingales, were characterized by lush scenery, smooth lines, and a light yet sparse style. In his later years, he traveled to Sichuan, creating works like Emei Cloud Sea and Qimen Autumn Colors, with a style leaning toward boldness and sharpness, using thick and rough brushwork. He painted over a thousand works in his lifetime, pursuing a tranquil and refined aesthetic, blending poetry, calligraphy, and painting into one. He published Chen Shuren Paintings (4 volumes), Chen Shuren’s Recent Works, and Selected Works of Chen Shuren in Chinese Painting, as well as Chun Xiang Tang Poetry Collection, Green Barrens Verses, Collection of Love, Ode to Natural Beauty, and Dust of War. His paintings are collected in the National Art Museum of China, Guangdong Provincial Museum, as well as museums in Berlin, Paris, and Moscow. This book compiles over 150 of Chen Shuren’s masterpieces, providing a detailed introduction to the life and artistic journey of this representative painter of the Lingnan School. It also includes excerpts of his own art theories, a chronology of his life, and comments from various critics on his works.