Visit to Singapore Art Museum
What is most significant about Xu Bei Hong’s work is a common theme expressing patriotism and love for his country. For example, from the short summaries of his work, I noticed that Chinese ink painting of horses are symbolism for freedom, energy and strength that was wished upon China in war with the Japanese.
Another painting, done in ink and colour also commented on the war between China and Japan. It is titled “The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains” done in 1940. It is also interesting because there are influences of other cultures seen in this painting. This aspect will be discussed in greater detail in this essay.
taken from: www.artknowledgenews.com
Information Extracted from SAM: ”The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains” is based on the story of Beichan Yugong from the classic work Liezi. In the story, the old man decided
to remove the two mountains in front of his house. Although ridiculed as a folly, the old man reasoned that if his sons and grandsons persevered in the task, the mountains would be removed eventually. When God learnt of the old man’s determination, he was so moved that he ordered that the mountains be moved. This story is important for Xu as he wanted to use it as a metaphor to praise Chinese efforts in resisting Japanese aggression at the time.The main reason why this work interests me is its western influence. During the exhibition, I noticed that Mr. Xu usually approached paintings with a freehand style used in Chinese ink paintings, generalising shapes and displaying rich brushwork and ink technique as seen in “Standing Horse” However, in “The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains”, he is very meticulous about details, the forms are carefully modeled. Composition wise, Xu has discarded the strict composition characteristic of classical Chinese paintings and instead opted for a more complex composition. There is also a fixed-point perspective in this painting. Mr Xu did not deviate too much from realism, in this painting, the colours used are naturalistic, body forms of the workers are carefully and realistically modeled and the precise anatomical proportion are all an effort to portray an realistic image of the subject matter.
The subject matter also displays an integration of Western ideas and cultural encounter between China and the West; this makes the painting interesting and meaningful. The workers in this painting are a combination of Chinese and Indian nationality. Mr Xu made this distinction difference in physical traits. For the Chinese workers, his skin tone is lighter as compared to that of the Indian workers. However, the most obvious difference is the physique of the workers. The Chinese man is fit, lean and muscular while the Indian man has excessive abdominal fat and has more facial hair than the Chinese man. Indian Man also wears pajama pants. The integration of Indian practices is displayed in the use of elephants as domestic animals. The elephant is widely domesticated and can be used for ceremonial purposes in India. By placing it alongside with the water buffalo, it brings about a contrast between the two cultures’ domestic practices.
Mr Xu can be considered as an influential artist in China. During his time, it is common among Chinese painters to copy paintings, thus most works were divorced from real life. There are some Western elements, ideas in this painting that is absent in his previous ink paintings and calligraphy. Thus, this work is of great significance in showing Xu’s break away from traditional Chinese painting.
Other Masterpieces:
“Portrait of Rabindranath Tagore” (1940)
References
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