Selected Works of Huang Binhong

Background info

Among the many Chinese Mountains-and-waters painters in this century, Huang Binhong ( 1865-1955), with his remarkable artistic craftsmanship, may be rated as a great master, who had erected a milestone for the transition of the classic landscape painting art to the modern landscape painting art.

Huang, whose given name was Zhi, also styled himself Pucun, had such assumed names, as Yuxiang, Honglu and Hongsou. At middle age Huang adopted the name Binhong. He was born in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province and died in Hangzhou, and his ancestral home was in Shexian County, Anhui Province.

Influenced by his father and the teacher who introduced him to the painting realm, Huang Binhong began to copy the landscape albums of painter Shen Yanrui at the age of six. In his youth, Huang traveled and studied in the city of Yangzhou, making friends in the literary and art circles, and was adept at poetic composition, and seal making. He had a deep love for calligraphy and painting, and for many years he had engaged himself copying the famous paintings in the tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties.

During the reign of Emperor Xuantong, he was in Shanghai, serving as art editor for the "Journal of Guocui (the quintessence of Chinese culture)", "Shenzhou Times" magazines and the commercial Press, and was editor-in-chief of the Shenzhou Review, published by the Shenzhou Guoguang Publishing House. Then he taught in the art schools in the cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Huangzhou. After liberation (1949), Huang Binhong worked as professor for the East China Branch of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and vice-chairman of the East China Branch of the Chinese Artists Association.

By learning from the strong points of other artists while sticking to his own way, Huang gradually broke away from the confinements ast by ancient artists and formed his unique style in painting. The changes in his works seemed reasonable and natural, when he was at work, he could follow his inclinations and never depart from his rules. The number of the sketches he made on the famous mountains and great rivers where he trekked had exceeded 10,000. His painting style in his middle age was vigorous and refreshing, while the calligraphy he was versed in his later years gave full expression of delicacy of line and grand and magnificent of form which looked majestic and incisive and imposing. A poem written on him said that "in his 90s Huang's painting brushed even skillful, like a fighter that could conquer an army so powerful".

Huang Binhong, also a systematic researcher on the history and theory of paintings, was a prolific author with penetrating views. His works included "On the Origin of the Mt. Huangshan Painting School", "Outline of the History of Chinese Painting", "Honglu on Painting", "On Ancient Chinese Painting", "Seals Stored in Binhong's Thatched House" and the "Main Painting Rules". Besides, Huang Binhong also compiled the "Art Series" with Deng Shi, and finished a collection "Huang Binhong on Painting".

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