Guan Liang (; 1900–1986),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobal ...

Lianggong (), was a Chinese painter. He was an important representative of the first generation of oil painters in China and was known for blending Western and Chinese art styles.

Biography

Guan Liang was born in

Panyu Panyu, Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Punyu, is one of 11 District (China), urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. It was a separate county-level city b ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

province in 1900. In 1917 he went to Tokyo, Japan, where he studied oil painting under Fujishima Takeji. After returning to China in 1922, he taught at the Shanghai Fine Arts School and the National Academy of Art (present-day

China Academy of Art China Academy of Art (), also translated as China National Academy of Fine Arts, was founded in Hangzhou in 1928 by the government of the Republic of China and the renowned educator Cai Yuanpei. It was the first art university and first graduat ...

) in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...

. In 1927 he joined the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

(Beifa War) against the northern warlords, and was in charge of arts and publicity for the Expedition army. In 1940 Guan Liang held his first solo exhibition in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provi ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

province. In 1957 he was among the three artists chosen by the government to exhibit at the Berlin Arts Institute in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. Guan settled in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

in the 1960s, where he lived until his death in 1986. He was vice chairman of the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Artists Association and a member of Shanghai Research Institute of Culture and History. He was also a recognized art educator, and was director of the art research office at

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; ) is a Public university, public research university in Shanghai, Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China ...

. In 1987, the

Shanghai Art Museum The Shanghai Art Museum () was an art museum in the city of Shanghai, China. In October 2012, the museum was rebranded as the China Art Museum when it moved to the China pavilion at Expo 2010 on the former Shanghai Expo 2010 lands. The Shangha ...

held an exhibition of his works in his memory. Although Guan began his career as an oil painter, he later focussed on traditional Chinese

ink wash painting Ink wash painting ( zh, t=水墨畫, s=水墨画, p=shuǐmòhuà; ja, 水墨画, translit=suiboku-ga or ja, 墨絵, translit=sumi-e; ko, 수묵화, translit=sumukhwa) is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses black ink, such as tha ...

featuring characters from

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

s. He is considered the first artist to introduce Western painting techniques to traditional ink wash painting and is known for his unique portrayal of Peking opera figures. His representative works include ''Stealing the Royal Horse'' () and ''Farewell to my Concubine'' (), both scenes from traditional Peking operas. Guan Liang is one of the seven artists featured in the Exhibition for Noted Painters at the

China Art Museum The China Art Museum, also called the China Art Palace (; Shanghainese: ''Zongwu Nyizeh Ghon'') or its original name, Shanghai Art Museum, is a museum of modern Chinese art located in Pudong, Shanghai. The museum is housed in the former China Pa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guan, Liang 1900 births 1986 deaths Artists from Guangzhou People from Panyu District Republic of China painters Painters from Guangdong Shanghai Jiao Tong University faculty China Academy of Art faculty Educators from Guangdong Chinese expatriates in Japan 20th-century Chinese painters People's Republic of China painters