Lu Yanshao - Representative Works Series of Haipai Calligraphers

Author: Shanghai Calligraphers Association
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Lu Yanshao (1909-1993), originally named Di, styled Wanru. He was a native of Jiading County, Shanghai. From a young age, he loved painting and began studying poetry, calligraphy, and painting at the age of 18 under his teacher. In his early years, he studied under Feng Chaoran. He excelled in landscape painting, absorbing the techniques of various masters throughout history, particularly influenced by Huangheshanqiao, yet he did not cling to tradition when learning from the past. His paintings emphasize composition, skillfully using lines to depict clouds and water. He often used white clouds brushes to outline layered peaks and ridges, and especially employed ink blocks to press and squeeze white space to create clouds and water, with mist rising above the scenes, giving them a unique charm. In his later years, he started anew, drawing inspiration from Chen Laolin and Qiu Shizhou, incorporating their brushwork into his traditional techniques and artistic connotations. He painted grand mountains and vast waters in his distinctive style, creating a new school of art with far-reaching influence. He served as a member of the National Federation of Literature and Arts and held positions as the President of Zhejiang Art Institute and Professor. In 1933, he operated a farm in Shangbai Town, Deqing County, Zhejiang, where he grew crops while painting. During this period, Wu Hufan's paintings had already gained fame across the Yangtze River region. However, Lu Yanshao believed that "brushwork was inferior to ink, and ink was inferior to color," and that he had a "natural temperament of being straightforward and resolute," making it unsuitable for him to follow Wu's gentle and graceful style. He (resolutely forged his own path), seeking to achieve uniqueness. In 1938, with the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Lu Yanshao and his family fled to Sichuan to avoid the chaos of war. They first settled in Chongqing, where he worked as an administrative officer at the affiliated farm of the 20th Chongqing Factory. Later, they moved to Chengdu, Yibin, and Emei, and he held multiple exhibitions during this time.