Paying trib ute to the genius of painter Lu Yanshao

Lu Yanshao excelled at landscape palntlng by Introduclng O*chnlques he invented hlmself.Below: Lu Yanshao and hls wlfe Zhu Yanyln.

“Painter Lu Yanshao”is what chinese landscape master Lu Yanshao wrote for his own epitaph before passingaway in 1993.It was typical of the man known for his austerity and low profile.

But among a multitude of successful Chinese contemporary artists,Lu's name can never be overlooked.

A series of memorial activities marking the 100th anniversary of Lu's birthday kicked off late last month in Jiading District,the master's hometown. The activities were aimed at spreading and expanding tradi-tionaJ culture as well as encouraging Chinese civilization.

Institutions involved include the Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles,the Zhejiang Academy of Painting,the China Art Institution and the Lu Yanshao Art Academy.

Commemorations will include exhibitions in Shanghai,Beijing,Hangzhou,Nanjing and Shenzhen,a ceremony to launch the publication of“The Collection of Lu Yanshao”in Beijing and Shanghai,and academic discussions about the master.

The memorial activities will runthrough to the middle of next year.

While Lu is known as a master painter,he is also famous for his cal-Iigraphy,articles and poetry.

His calligraphy was influenced by Jin(265—420 AD)and Tang(618—907 AD)dynasty masters,while articles by masters from the Han Dynasty(206 BC-220 AD) and Wei Kingdom(220—265 AD) also had a great influence on his work.

On the aftemoon of June 26,an exhibition of Lu's calligraphy works opened at the Lu Yanshao Art Acad-emy while a bronze statue was also unveiled.

The 80 pieces on display showed the irreslistible charm of Lu's calligraphy.

Following the ceremony,two publications were also released—a collection of Lu's works and another of postscripts written by Lu.

Also on June 26,an exhibition of Lu's paintings was held at the Shanghai Art Museum featuring.208masterpieces.

The works represented various periods of Lu's career and marked his devotion to art and his outstanding achievements.

As well as being a famous con-temporary painter,Lu was also renowned as an educationist.He was the painter of Shanghai Academy of Chinese Painting,the dean of Zhejang Academy of Painting,a professor of Zhejiang Art Institution and a director of the Chinese Artists'Association.

Lu became fond of art at an early age and was apprenticed to famous painter Feng Chaoran.He later became campletely devoted to art and created his unique style oflandscape painting.

“Lu7ived a life of simplicity but he pursued perfection in arL Such spirit is the most valuable treasure he leftto his children,”says Wang Yi,dean of the Lu Yanshao Art Academy.“He was bom for art and that's why he was able to create his own unique painting school.”

According to Wang,what helped Lu become a master was his emphasis on innovation as well as inheriting knowledge from the past.

Before leaming to paint,Lu studied the writing and poetry of ancient Chi-nese masters,absorbing their spirit and mixing it with his own beliefs so as to maintain a balance between similarity and original creation.

In most paintings the barycenter -the central point of all objects in the picture -is in the center.But in Lu's works the barycenters are on the left edge,an unusual technique that makes the objects appear as if they might collapse at any time.

So while Lu's paintings were of static landscapes, he endowed the objects in them with a sense of move-ment, which is called momentum in Chinese painting.

“I regret not to have leamt Lu's painting skills.But I have to admit that the water he paints and his arrange-ment of black and color are beyondnormal understanding,”said Zhang Yaochang,a fan of Lu's calligraphy,also a teacher of Lu's son Lu Jing.

In 2004,people in art auction circles called it“The Year of Lu Yanshao”with his work”A Hundred Scenes of Du Fu's Poets”selling for 69.3 million yuan(US$10 million),the highest price ever paid at auction for a Chinese painting and calligraphy work.

“Price is confirmation of the value of the work of an artist,”says Gu Yin,the successful tenderer who is also the head of Chang Feng Tang Museum.

Famous art critic Lang Shaojun says“A Hundred Scenes of Du Fu's Poets”surpassed anything before or since,marking Lu's position in art history.

“The commemoration activities will further promote the academic position of Lu Yanshao as well as the cultural influence of Jiading.Jiading hopes more artists will rise from here,”Wang says.

“As the hometown of Lu Yanshao,Jiading is the prime mover of the commemoration.Through com-memorating Lu,we also expect to awake the public's consciousness of protecting traditional culture and relics of Jiading.”

Lu Yanshao lived a life of simplicity but he pursued perfection in art,Such spirit is the most valuable treasure he left to his children.He was born for art and that's why he was able to create his own unique painting school.