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Liu Haisu (; 16 March 1896 – 7 August 1994) was a prominent twentieth-century Chinese painter and a noted art educator. He excelled in
Chinese painting Chinese painting () is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as ''guó huà'' (), meaning "national painting" or "native painting", as opposed to Western style ...
and oil painting. He was one of the four pioneers of Chinese modern art who earned the title of " The Four Great Academy Presidents".


Overview

His original given name was Pan, courtesy name Jifang, and sobriquet Haiwong. He excelled in
oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest ...
, ink painting (''guohua'') and art education. He was devoted to painting at an early age. He entered a painting school in
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
directed by Zhou Xiang to learn western painting when he was 14 years old. In 1910 he opened a painting school in his county. In November 1912, together with Wu Shiguang and Zhang Yunguang, he founded the first school of fine arts in modern China, Shanghai Academy of Chinese Painting (), the former Shanghai School of Fine Arts (). He initiated co-education, and pioneered the adoption of nude model and open-air painting, and thus was scolded as an "artistic traitor", though he was supported by scholars such as
Cai Yuanpei Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Pek ...
. He lectured in
Beijing University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal chart ...
and held his first personal exhibition in 1918. He went to Japan to explore education of fine arts in 1919, and founded
Tianma Party Tianma ( ', "heavenly horse") was a winged flying horse in Chinese folklore. It was sometimes depicted with chimerical features such as dragon scales and was at times attributed the ability to sweat blood, possibly inspired by the parasite ''Par ...
upon returning to China. He went to Japan in October 1920 to attend the opening ceremony of Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, and after he returned, he wrote "Biography of
Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realism ...
" and "Biography of
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically d ...
" to introduce western arts into China. He visited
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
again in 1927 and made the acquaintance of Japanese painters. He was a teacher of
Pan Yuliang Pan Yuliang (, 14 June 1895 – 22 July 1977), born as Chen Xiuqing, and was renamed Zhang Yuliang (張玉良) when adopted by her maternal uncle after the early passing of her parents. She was a Chinese painter, renowned as the first woman in t ...
, a Chinese female artist who brought Western influence into Chinese painting.


Biography

Liu loved painting from a very young age and went to
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
for professional studying alone at 14. When he was 17, he established the first art school of modern China—Shanghai institute of Fine Art with his friends, Wu Shiguang and Zhang Jinguang. Later he started coeducation and used nude models to teach paintings. He was the first man to do such things in China and it caused a lot of controversy. People called him a traitor of the arts. However, he got support from
Cai Yuanpei Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Pek ...
, the principal of
Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...
. In 1918, he began teaching at
Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...
and held his first solo exhibition. In the same year, he also founded the “Art” magazine. In 1919, he went to Japan to study painting and art education and attended the first art exhibition opening ceremony of the Art School of the imperial Japan. After returning home, he founded an institute—天马会. In 1920, he went to Japan once again. He participated in the opening ceremony of the new imperial Art School on behalf of the arts. In 1924, one of his students held an exhibition in
Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...
featuring nude art. This greatly disturbed
Sun Chuanfang Sun Chuanfang () (April 17, 1885 – November 13, 1935) a.k.a. the "Nanking Warlord" or leader of the "League of Five Provinces" was a Zhili clique warlord and protégé of the "Jade Marshal" Wu Peifu (1874–1939). Biography Sun Chuanfang ...
, who issued a secret warrant for Liu's arrest and tried to close down his school. However his efforts were futile, since the school was based in the French area of Shanghai, where Sun had no authority. Liu still had to pay a fine to appease the warlord. The event made the concept of nude modeling public knowledge in China. In 1927, he was forced to go to Japan because of the political persecution.
Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition a ...
once assisted him to hold solo exhibitions in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
. In 1938, he went home. During 1918~1988, Liu climbed Mount
Huangshan Huangshan (),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui Province in eastern China. It was originally called “Yishan”, and it was renamed because of a legend that Emperor Xua ...
ten times. His most important works were mostly focused on Huangshan. In addition, he went to Europe twice. He communicated with famous painters, such as
Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
and
Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...
. He made great contributions to the development and spread of Chinese painting. In 1994, he died in Shanghai.


Family

Liu Haisu had four wives in his lifetime. His first marriage was arranged by his parents. He showed great disagreement with the arranged marriage and left home for
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
, where he met his second wife—Zhang Yunshi (), then 17 years old. Soon, they had their first son—Liu Hu (). In 1933, Liu married Cheng Jiahe () and had a son () and a daughter. In 1944, he married his fourth wife—Xia Yiqiao (), a student of his.


External links


Official website of Liu Haisu Art Museum


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Haisu 1896 births 1994 deaths Educators from Changzhou Republic of China painters Nanjing University of the Arts faculty Presidents of universities and colleges in China Victims of the Cultural Revolution Victims of the Anti-Rightist Campaign Painters from Changzhou Chinese art educators