A genius in the modern painting world, who is widely said and criticized, he is Liu Haisu.
Liu Haisu is a famous modern Chinese painter, art educator and art historian, and is known as one of the founders of China's New Art Movement. He was born on March 16, 1896, originally from Fengyang, Anhui Province, and was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu. At the age of fourteen, he went to Shanghai to study Western painting under the background painting of Zhou Xiang. In 1912, he founded the Shanghai Academy of Chinese Painting in Shanghai (later known as the Shanghai Art School), which can be called the first art school in modern China, so it is a great achievement. This opened the first page in the history of modern art education in China, marking the official birth of a new type of school with the concept of modern art education, thus building an experimental platform for establishing an advanced art education system, cultivating specialized art talents, and cultivating future art masters.
Liu Haisu has had a very rich artistic career, not only specializing in oil painting and Chinese painting, but also dabbling in calligraphy and poetry. He has always been rooted in the Chinese painting tradition, and has continued to integrate cutting-edge Western art concepts into his own creations. His works have a wide range of themes, including Yellow Mountain, people, animals, etc., and his style is unique, bold and unbridled, reckless, mellow and simple. His paintings enjoy a high reputation in the art world both nationally and internationally. He has successively served as the honorary president and professor of Nanjing University of the Arts, and the honorary chairman of the Shanghai Artists Association. Consultant of the Chinese Artists Association. Awarded the "Outstanding Achievement Award" by the Cambridge International Centre for Communication, UK. The European Academy in Italy awarded the "European Palm Gold Medal". In 1981, he was awarded the Academician of the Italian National Academy of Arts, and in March 1991, he received an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Hong Kong
Liu Haisu was controversial and married four wives, some people say that Liu Haisu is a bright pearl in the history of contemporary Chinese art, he single-handedly influenced the direction of Chinese art history, and can be called the first person to introduce Western art to China and promote Chinese art to the worldSome people also say that Liu Haisu's painting skills are mediocre and his bad deeds are bad, and he is really a scum in the art world. It is rumored that he colluded with *** to smash the painting academy of the teacher Zhou Xiang, beat Zhou Xiang to seven holes and bleed, and deceived and raped Zhou Xiang's girl Sun Shu and Zhou Xiang's young wife Sun Jing'an, until the two women became pregnant. Forced Zhou Xiang to flee Shanghai. Whether it's true or not, it is unknown.
He insisted on teaching with traditional Western mannequins. In China at that time, it was simply shocking and was scolded as a "traitor to art".
Liu Haisu has many excellent works, such as the representative "Ba Fei Pu Notre-Dame de Li", "Snow of Luxembourg", "Cold Forest", "Huangshan Ancient Song", "Five Doctors", "Howling Tiger" and so on. His Chinese paintings combine traditional brush and ink techniques with individual innovative ideas, forming a unique artistic style.
He died in Shanghai on August 7, 1994 at the age of 98. The Education Commission of the People's Republic of China spoke highly of Master Haisu's life: "Professor Liu Haisu is the pioneer of China's New Art Movement and the founder of modern art education. ”
Liu Haisu's legendary life, his life of art, his merits and demerits, love and hatred, just wait for future generations to comment.