Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010)
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Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) was a Chinese impressionist painter and writer. He is often credited with elevating the popularity of Chinese painting on an international scale. Today, he is considered to be one of the most important painters of the 20th century.
Wu was born in Yixing in the People's Republic of China. Located in the Yangtze River Delta, Wu had lots of exposure to the natural beauty which would come to dominate his paintings. However, his exposure to art came late as an electrical engineering student at the Zhejiang Industrial School, where a chance encounter with art student Zhu Dequn. Zhu invited Wu to visit his school, the National Hangzhou Academy of Art, and Wu immediately fell in love with art. Against his family's wishes, he transferred to the academy in 1936 and began his artistic career.
Shortly after transferring, the Sino-Japanese War broke out and the academy had to move several times in order to avoid the invading Japanese. However, Wu viewed this upheaval as an advantage as he gained opportunities to see a variety of locations and study with a number of teachers; he would not have had these opportunities had the academy stayed in the same place for the entire program of his study. Despite the hardships, Wu graduated in 1942 and immediately found work as a substitute art teacher; this job acted as a stepping stone for him securing a position as a teacher at Chongqing University.
Wu decided to study French language and culture, knowing that he would one day visit Paris in order to continue his studies. This wish was granted in 1947 when he was chosen as one of two artists to receive a scholarship for study at the prestigious École National Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Wu, a French art enthusiast, found that Paris provided him with a nearly endless supply of artistic input and output that he desired; he spent almost all of his waking hours engaging in some form with the art scene, whether browsing expansive museum collections or feverishly improving his artistic technique based on the paintings that he encountered. Of particular interest to Wu was the vast differences between European and Chinese culture; he particular connected to the personal struggles of artists which would influence their art; he was particular interested in how the internal struggles of Vincent Van Gogh affected the art that he produced. He also learned and adopted the aesthetic of formalism while in Paris.
Upon his return to China in 1950, Wu found a country which had just undergone a great amount of change. He channeled this change into enthusiasm for his new job as a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, where he taught until 1953. He was one of the first artists to bring formalism and modernism to the academy. However, his enthusiasm for these techniques was not well received and he moved to a job at Tsinghua University. However, Wu's life changed dramatically when Chairman Mao Zedong unveiled his Cultural Revolution in 1966. Wu was forced to destroy his art and perform hard labor in rice fields beginning in 1970. He was initially prohibited from painting and was finally allowed to paint only on Sundays. He was released from labor and returned to Beijing near the end of 1972.
Upon his return to the city, Wu made several changes to his artistic style in response to the needs of a changing world. He began to use watercolors and explore more Chinese imagery and techniques, a departure from his previous works rooted in European tradition. However, upon Mao's death in 1976, Wu returned to the formalist style which he loved so well, a style that seemed to appeal to audiences outside of the newly-opened China. He began to contribute to an international dialog about formalism in art, producing several theoretical essays on the subject.
In 1991, to honor his artistic achievement, the French government bestowed upon him the title of Officier de l'Order des Arts et des Lettres. In 1992, he was the first living artist to have his paintings exhibited at the British Museum in London. He passed away in 2010 in Beijing.
Wu was born in Yixing in the People's Republic of China. Located in the Yangtze River Delta, Wu had lots of exposure to the natural beauty which would come to dominate his paintings. However, his exposure to art came late as an electrical engineering student at the Zhejiang Industrial School, where a chance encounter with art student Zhu Dequn. Zhu invited Wu to visit his school, the National Hangzhou Academy of Art, and Wu immediately fell in love with art. Against his family's wishes, he transferred to the academy in 1936 and began his artistic career.
Shortly after transferring, the Sino-Japanese War broke out and the academy had to move several times in order to avoid the invading Japanese. However, Wu viewed this upheaval as an advantage as he gained opportunities to see a variety of locations and study with a number of teachers; he would not have had these opportunities had the academy stayed in the same place for the entire program of his study. Despite the hardships, Wu graduated in 1942 and immediately found work as a substitute art teacher; this job acted as a stepping stone for him securing a position as a teacher at Chongqing University.
Wu decided to study French language and culture, knowing that he would one day visit Paris in order to continue his studies. This wish was granted in 1947 when he was chosen as one of two artists to receive a scholarship for study at the prestigious École National Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Wu, a French art enthusiast, found that Paris provided him with a nearly endless supply of artistic input and output that he desired; he spent almost all of his waking hours engaging in some form with the art scene, whether browsing expansive museum collections or feverishly improving his artistic technique based on the paintings that he encountered. Of particular interest to Wu was the vast differences between European and Chinese culture; he particular connected to the personal struggles of artists which would influence their art; he was particular interested in how the internal struggles of Vincent Van Gogh affected the art that he produced. He also learned and adopted the aesthetic of formalism while in Paris.
Upon his return to China in 1950, Wu found a country which had just undergone a great amount of change. He channeled this change into enthusiasm for his new job as a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, where he taught until 1953. He was one of the first artists to bring formalism and modernism to the academy. However, his enthusiasm for these techniques was not well received and he moved to a job at Tsinghua University. However, Wu's life changed dramatically when Chairman Mao Zedong unveiled his Cultural Revolution in 1966. Wu was forced to destroy his art and perform hard labor in rice fields beginning in 1970. He was initially prohibited from painting and was finally allowed to paint only on Sundays. He was released from labor and returned to Beijing near the end of 1972.
Upon his return to the city, Wu made several changes to his artistic style in response to the needs of a changing world. He began to use watercolors and explore more Chinese imagery and techniques, a departure from his previous works rooted in European tradition. However, upon Mao's death in 1976, Wu returned to the formalist style which he loved so well, a style that seemed to appeal to audiences outside of the newly-opened China. He began to contribute to an international dialog about formalism in art, producing several theoretical essays on the subject.
In 1991, to honor his artistic achievement, the French government bestowed upon him the title of Officier de l'Order des Arts et des Lettres. In 1992, he was the first living artist to have his paintings exhibited at the British Museum in London. He passed away in 2010 in Beijing.