In the past 30 years in Shanghai, Lin Fengmian's "Colorful Poems" are in full swing

Lin Fengmian's Art Road in Shanghai from 1951 to 1977

This year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of art master Lin Fengmian. In Hall 4 of the Cheng Shifa Art Museum, which was completed some time ago, the "Chen Ruo Morning Star-Lin Fengmian Special Exhibition" is being held, which brings together more than 40 Lin Fengmian paintings collected by the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy. Most of these works were painted by Lin Fengmian when he settled in Shanghai from 1951 to 1977. People can see that "there is also the tender green of the dyke willow, the orange red in the autumn, the desolate wild crossing, and the fisherman who pulls the net." As Ai Qing lamented when commenting on Lin Fengmian's paintings in "Colored Poem".

Lin Fengmian is regarded as a "lyric poet in the field of painting". How does such an artistic style flourish? Let's go back to the artistic path of Lin Fengmian in his late years in Shanghai for nearly 30 years.

--editor

As a “hometown” where Lin Fengmian stayed several times in his life, Shanghai kept thinking of him and mentioning him in the endless cultural writing. In June 1979, Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House published a Collection of Lin Fengmian's Paintings. Lu Meng wrote the preface "Lyric Psalms", the title captures the spirit of his painting. As early as 1926, Lin Fengmian wrote in "The Future of Eastern and Western Art": "Art is the impulse of human emotions, and it is expressed in a considerable form. From this we can see that art is one of the ways in which human emotions are reconciled or relaxed. This method. "" The strength of Chinese art is suitable for lyricism. "In the 27 years in Shanghai, Lin Fengmian has always been in a state of inward exploration and creation. Although he has also participated in some in-life creation, but in more In his personal space and time, he has never given up "lyrical painting" at a more pressing and repressive historical moment. Poet Ai Qing, a student of Lin Fengmian's National Academy of Art in Hangzhou, wrote a long poem "Poetry in Color" after reading "Lin Fengmian's Painting Collection". "The painter and the poet have the same eyes and seek the artistic conception from the world through the window of the soul." He regarded Lin Fengmian as "the lyric poet in the field of painting".

In 1951, Lin Fengmian used his poor health as a reason to establish the National Hangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, which was renamed the East China Branch of the Central Academy of Fine Arts at this time. He took a leave of absence to avoid Shanghai and temporarily resided at 53 Nanchang Road.

Lin Fengmian is no stranger to Shanghai. In December 1919, it was at the Huangpu Wharf in Yangshupu, Shanghai, that Lin Fengmian boarded the 25,000-ton French cruise ship Audrey-Ponte to study in France and began his magnificent artistic life. Seven years later, he also landed at the pier on the Huangpu River and returned to China after learning. In 1928, Lin Fengmian's solo painting exhibition was successfully held in Shangxiantang, French Concession. According to the "Report", the number of visitors was "a total of more than 10,000 people, and more than a hundred letters of praise." After that, he and Lu Xun met at the Beautiful Sichuan Restaurant to talk about China's emerging art career; he participated in several meetings of the College Art Education Committee. In the summer of 1947, Lin Fengmian returned to Hangzhou from Hangzhou to host another solo exhibition, the address of which is French Academy in Nanchang Road. For this purpose, Shenbao published a long review article, "Lin Fengmian's Painting Thought Contains Renaissance." Before Lin Fengmian officially settled in Shanghai since then, although Shanghai is not the home of his artistic activities and painting practice, he can always give him some warm memories and comfort some nostalgia for the spiritual hometown of France.

In 1952, Lin Fengmian officially resigned as a professor at the East China Branch of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, settled in Shanghai, and began a 27-year stay in Shanghai. At that time, his paintings were called "new school paintings", which seemed incompatible with mainstream realism. The concept of "new school painting" prevailed in the 1920s and 1930s, mainly referring to the schools after the Western Impressionism. From 1919 to 1926, Lin Fengmian studied painting in France and traveled to Germany during this time. At this time, European modernist art was flourishing. He was deeply influenced by cubism and expressionism. Leaving Hangzhou, according to Lin Fengmian's later memories, there are considerations to avoid the limelight.

In the early 1950s, Lin Fengmian created many opera-themed paintings with a distinct cubist style. Concerned about opera, he did not start from the tradition itself, but from the perspective of western modernity

Back in Shanghai, Lin Fengmian didn't have a fixed income. She depended on his wife to commission foreign friends to sell paintings and bring students to support her life. His almost secluded life allowed him to paint with concentration. In the early 1950s, Lin Fengmian's creation seemed to have changed a lot in terms of subject matter and style. For example, he created a lot of paintings with a distinct cubist style on the subject of opera, which is somewhat incredible.

The theme of the opera is something Lin Fengmian hasn't tried or even hated in the past. As early as 1927, in the "To the National Art Circle Book" he once said "thinking about the old drama a little, you can feel infinite. desolate". This time, he deepened his understanding of cubism by exploring the theme of opera.

It is said that Lin Fengmian, who returned to Shanghai, began to watch traditional opera under the influence of his fellow Guan Liang. Whether this acceptance also originated from the "Orientalism" that he gained during his studies in France. Although he saw the "Oriental" fictionalized or reconstructed by the West, the resulting impulse led him to seriously examine The power of the country's cultural traditions is long-lasting. Lin Fengmian wrote in the "Reminiscence and Nostalgia" article of Xinmin Evening News on February 17, 1963, beginning with "Remembrance and nostalgia for some past events, often inspiring and promoting in his artistic creation. Function. "In a short text, he described in two-thirds of his pen and ink the visit of Oriental relics in a museum in Paris and the enlightenment of his teacher Yancey. This is almost the most important turning point in Lin Fengmian's artistic career. "Forty years ago, I did n’t know how many dusks I had spent there, and it was also there that I began to learn the art tradition of our motherland." "At that time, I was totally obsessed with naturalistic frames in my artistic creation. Luo Meng studied for a long time and did not make much progress. One day Janischt came to Paris to see me ... He said to me sincerely but sternly: 'You are a Chinese, do you know your Chinese What a precious and excellent tradition of art! Why don't you study hard? Go! Go out of the college's door, go to the Oriental Museum, the Ceramic Museum, and dig in the rich treasures! '"

In the early 1950s, Lin Fengmian's attention to opera and painting exploration of opera subjects could be regarded as a continuation of his re-understanding of his own cultural traditions in the Paris era, as well as the practice of "harmonizing Eastern and Western arts" that he has always emphasized. He often took sketchbooks with small book sketches while recording the drama, recorded the characteristic large flower faces and costume props, and used English words to mark important colors and features on the side.

Lin Fengmian's understanding of traditional opera is consistent with his understanding of traditional painting. This is "time". And "time" is an important issue about modernity. Focusing on opera, he did not start from the tradition itself, but from the perspective of western modernity. In "The Future of Chinese Paintings We Want" published in January 1933, he wrote at the beginning: "The so-called Chinese paintings of China have forgotten time and nature in the past few years. Why is it that you forgot time? Chinese traditional paintings, eighty-ninths, can be said to be conservative in tradition, imitated by ancient people, and plagiarized by predecessors. "This traditional conservativeness may be partly attributed to View of time at rest. After analyzing Chinese opera for many years, Lin Fengmian wrote: "I have lived in Shanghai recently to have the opportunity to watch old operas. Shaoxing opera has been improved a lot. I like to draw operas. There are many themes at one time. This time I seem to understand its characteristics. The new play is divided into scenes, and the old scene is divided into scenes. The scene seems to have only space, and the scene seems to have a concept of time extension. The contradiction between time and space can be easily resolved in the old scene. " The extension of time in the old drama contains the relatively vague meaning of time transformation, and the transformation of space is carried out in a relatively constant time category. And the new play splits the extension of time because of the division, and cuts off the extension of time in the old play into moments. Lin Fengmian's thinking shows a modernity.

From the perspective of modernity, he understands the space-time view of traditional drama, and the expression of cubism is appropriate. He once said frankly: "Like Picasso sometimes solves objects are folded on a flat surface, I use a method, after watching the old drama, one by one, the story characters, and one by one it is folded on the screen, I The purpose is not to seek the sense of volume of people and people but to seek a sense of continuity. "Lin Fengmian's opera paintings are not like Guan Liang's opera paintings, which tell the plot of dynamic drama through the arrangement of characters. Time lapse. He broke the order of time with the folding of characters, so that the work has acquired a fragmented, transient, accidental, and modernity without time logic overlay. The heavy-colored paper "Wusong Killing Sword" created in 1953 is a typical style of the opera painting of the period.

Paintings of real life subjects with groups of characters as the main subject are another important type of creation during the Shanghai period of Lin Fengmian. He always explores paintings that match the needs of reality in his favorite art style

In 1954, the East China Artists Association was officially established in Shanghai, with Lin Fengmian as a director. In the same year, he attended the first Shanghai People's Political Consultative Conference and was elected as a member of the first CPPCC Committee. As a result, Lin Fengmian began to slowly participate in some official art activities in Shanghai, interacted with painters in Shanghai, and tried new painting subjects in the style and labor of in-depth life.

Since the 1950s, Lin Fengmian began to create paintings on real life subjects with groups of characters as the main subject. This is different from his exploration of portraits of ladies and opera figures. Even in the theme of labor, he still prefers female images. From "Farmer Woman" and "Vegetable Farmer" to "Harvest", groups of women gather to work together. These paintings have relatively strong colors, round shapes, and thick ink lines. At the same time as the simplicity of Chinese folk paintings, the earthy brown skin and rough face outlines in Gauguin's paintings are also revealed. Exotic oriental atmosphere. Among the few works that express the male labor scene, such as "Rolling Steel", the foreground characters and the background environment are shaped by mechanical short fold lines, merging the spatial relationship between the front and back, and can not block the cubist style.

Lin Fengmian devoted herself to a new society, a new life with enthusiasm, and consciously explored painting expressions that matched socialist realism. He once admitted to his student Su Tianci that such creations are very beneficial. "Going back and adding more points from life and nature will only enrich me."

In the mid-to-late 1950s, Lin Fengmian's depiction of realistic subjects in his deeper life should be stronger than in the early 1950s. He created a number of works that represented production and life. At this time, Lin Fengmian once again realized that he needed to return to his painting tradition to find a way to express socialist life. But this time the traditional view is not only from the perspective of "Orientalism", but also from the literary and artistic program of socialist realism. Regardless of the historical stage and pressure, Lin Fengmian's speech in the public media always insisted on the diversity of creative methods. He always explores paintings that match the needs of reality in his favorite art style.

In preparation for the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy in 1956, the Shanghai Art Association drafted a draft for the establishment of the "Shanghai Studio", which was mainly set up for artists to study business and counseling. There is one director of Shanghai Art Studio, four deputy directors, and 30 to 50 artists and assistant artists. The draft proposed Liu Haisu as the director and Lin Fengmian as one of the deputy directors. In the spring of 1958, Lin Fengmian participated in the rural labor training organized by the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Artists Association, and went deep into the Yanqiao Vegetable Production Team in Chuansha County in the eastern suburbs with Lai Shaoqi, Guan Liang, and former colleagues of the Hangzhou National Art Academy. At the farmer's house, live with them and work together. They also hosted the well-known former Soviet cartoonist Ye Feimov and oil painter Litvinenko in the production team and created murals together. After work, Lin Fengmian was so emotional that he wrote "Entering a New Era." The article begins like this: "The socialist construction of the motherland, the achievements in all aspects in the past year, are inexhaustible and incomplete ... Many art workers have improved their consciousness by one step, and in the past they locked themselves in The practice of working in the studio has begun to change resolutely. "

Lin Fengmian, a former oil painting expert, officially entered the circle of Chinese painting in Shanghai. This cross-border is not surprising, the exploration of the nationality of his paintings is quite consistent with the national identity of Chinese paintings.

In the early 1960s, Lin Fengmian ushered in a more comfortable time. In 1960, he went to Beijing to participate in the Third National Literary and Art Workers Congress. In 1962, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Artists Association. Wang Gezhen, Wu Hufan, and He Tianjian from Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy are also Vice-Chairmen of this session, while the Deputy Secretary-General includes Tang Yun and Chen Qiucao who are also from the Academy of Painting. At this time, Lin Fengmian was in Shanghai's art exchange circle, and more and more colleagues from the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy gradually increased. He also occasionally participated in the activities of the Painting Academy.

In 1961, Lin Fengmian accompanied the flower and bird painters of the Chinese Painting Academy of Shanghai to the Twenty-four Bays of Dongshan, Dongting, and saw the changes in the rural appearance and natural beauty, which added a new life to the new work. In the same year, Lin Fengmian participated in an important Chinese painting exhibition "Shanghai Flower and Bird Painting Exhibition" in Jinjing. With the very eye-catching exhibition work "Autumn Festival", Lin Fengmian once again attracted extensive attention. The 1961 work brief of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy made a special record entitled "Shanghai Flower and Bird Painting Exhibition" in Beijing for the exhibition: "The Shanghai Flower and Bird Painting Exhibition" was jointly deployed by the American Society and our Academy. A series of work was done for the preparation of the quarter, and a total of 126 works were selected, which were officially exhibited in the Beijing Art Gallery on July 23. On the same day, the People's Daily published a special edition of the magazine ... Among them, Tang Yun, Lin Fengmian, Lai The works of Chu Sheng and Zhu Xizhan are particularly eye-catching. "The vast majority of the participants in the exhibition were flower and bird painters from the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy. It was not known whether Lin Fengmian, who was an oil painting expert, was recognized as a Chinese painter at this time. However, "Autumn Cricket" is undoubtedly a successful work in the exploration of "reconciling things" and nationalization. His Chinese-style inks and inks drawn with brushes, rice paper, and ink convey a solitary and contemplative lyricism. This gloomy lyricism even permeates the painting. As the leading figure of Shanghai flower and bird paintings, Tang Yun liked the "Autumn Festival" very much. On July 23, 1961, he published the "People's favorite flower and bird paintings" published in the "People's Daily". "Autumn Festival" as one of the pictures. In fact, Lin Fengmian's participation in this exhibition is not unexpected. The nationality of his paintings is quite consistent with the national identity of Chinese paintings. In January 1962, Lin Fengmian confessed in "Lyricism, Expressiveness, and Others" published by Wenhui Bao that he mostly expressed the scenery in his heart through memory and understanding after observation. This is a subjective expression with lyricism. He deliberately used "Autumn Festival" as an example to explain his creative process. At the end of the article, Lin Fengmian wrote: "Our Chinese painting has a rich tradition. How to develop tradition and draw on the essence of foreign sources to create works of our great age requires the concerted efforts of the vast number of art workers across the country." Lin Fengmian will work on his own works. Analysis is put into the system of Chinese painting.

Unconsciously, Lin Fengmian entered the circle of Shanghai Chinese painting. Until 1973, he entered the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy as a painter of the Chinese painting group. The identity of the Chinese painter was officially remarked. Lin Fengmian regularly participates in the study and discussion organized by the courtyard; sometimes she cooperates with Tang Yun and other Chinese paintings as gifts as a gift for the reception of foreign guests in the courtyard; she also worked with the Chinese painting group to create landscape paintings "New Map of the Yangtze River Miles" in the courtyard Old and young painters went deep into the Yangtze River Shipping Bureau to experience life. Shanghai Chinese Academy of Painting has a tradition of old artists bringing together young artists. Lin Fengmian collaborated with Zhang Diping, who was still a young artist at the time, on "Put Tian Tong Qing". It is clearly October that the autumn winds start to itch the crabs, and everyone celebrates National Day.

In 1977, the then Shanghai Painting Academy (the merger of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy and the Oil Sculpture Academy) asked the Shanghai Cultural Bureau to ask Lin Fengmian to go abroad to visit relatives. At the end of 1977, Lin Fengmian left Shanghai and arrived in Hong Kong. As in 1919 58 years ago, Lin Fengmian set off from Shanghai and left mainland China again. After stopping in Hong Kong for several months, he flew to Brazil to visit his wife and children who had been separated for more than 20 years. Only this time after leaving Shanghai, he never returned. Before the departure, Shen Roujian specially invited a family banquet to invite Tang Yun and Guan Liang to accompany him for Lin Fengmian. During the banquet, Tang Yun drove up after drinking, and asked his host for help. The older Guan Liang first opened a stroke of Lu Zhishen. Lin Fengmian then drew Wu Song at the bottom left of the screen, and Shen Roujian continued to draw a cloth tiger beside Wu Song. Tang Yun added a few more strokes and drew an empty wine jar that fell to the ground. Finally, Mrs. Shen Roujian Wang Mulan wrote a sentence, and Tang Yun said: "Old friends gather to welcome the Spring Festival play, Zhishen Wusong each is drunk. Mulan wrote, Guan Liangfeng Mianrou Jianjian cooperation."

In 1979, Lin Fengmian, who was then in Hong Kong, wrote to Wang Yiping, Shen Roujian and Lu Meng, and stated that he would donate all 105 works left at the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy to the country. Therefore, these 105 pieces of Lin Fengmian's paintings from the 1940s to the 1970s are a permanent collection of Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy.

Wang Xin

(The author of this edition is the director of the Academic Collections Department of Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy)