"Eclectic Chinese and Western" and "New Literati Painting" - the exploration of Gao Jianfu, the founder of the Lingnan School

Gao Jianfu was an important leading figure in the Guangdong painting world in the 20th century, and the Lingnan School headed by him also represented an era in the history of modern Chinese art, with far-reaching influence.

Mr. Chen Chuanxi once commented in the "History of Chinese Landscape Painting": "Although Lingnan art has not yet been the mainstream of Chinese art and does not occupy a leading position, it is an important part of the history of Chinese art, and it is a very distinctive part. Without this part of Chinese art, it would be incomplete. Although Lingnan art is a regional art, it is rooted in Lingnan and radiates to the whole country and even the world. In the colorful Chinese culture, Lingnan art is a very dazzling pearl. ”

As the "cradle of modern national capital" and the "place of enlightenment of bourgeois restoration ideas", a number of "revolutionary painters" have emerged in Guangdong, including Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, Chen Shuren, He Xiangning and others. They not only actively propagated the idea of political revolution and participated in the revolutionary struggle, but also developed new Chinese paintings in line with the artistic idea of "eclectic Chinese and Western, integrating ancient and modern".

Among them, Gao Jianfu's influence was the most far-reaching. He is committed to innovating Chinese painting and exploring the future development direction of Chinese painting. He advocated the innovation of Chinese painting, the pioneering and innovative Chinese painting, and the popularization of art. He also taught and educated people, and the Spring Sleep Painting Academy he founded has produced many excellent painters.

He was determined to innovate Chinese painting throughout his life, and in the Chinese painting world where the ancient style prevailed, he took the lead in discovering the problem of Chinese painting in the slogan of "combining China and the West for a new era of painting" advocated by Kang Youwei, and advocated the use of the strengths of Western art to integrate into traditional Chinese painting and make it develop in the direction of modernization, nationalization and popularization.

The artistic thought of Gao Jianfu can be divided into three periods: early, middle and late.

In the early days, before 1919, Gao Jianfu, who was influenced by the new trend of thought after receiving the traditional Chinese "sketching school" painting method of the enlightened teacher Ju Lian, traveled east to Japan. Deeply influenced by the Japanese painters Takeuchi Andei, Yokoyama Daikan and others, the concept of "eclectic" new Chinese painting art was born.

He began to deliberately emphasize light and shadow and air in his paintings, abandoning traditional brush and ink lines. However, the paintings of this period have obvious imitation and transplantation, and are more blunt in the practice of the integration of Chinese and Western.

The middle period (1920-1938) was the maturity of his painting art, he came into contact with the art of various countries, and gradually formed his own unique style.

At this time, he also realized the importance of education, began to devote himself to art education, and publicized his artistic ideals in various places; opened the "Spring Sleep Painting Academy". This made the influence of Gao Jianfu, Chen Shuren, Gao Qifeng and others gradually expand in the Lingnan region, forming the "Lingnan School" headed by Gao Jianfu.

In the middle period of artistic practice, Gao Jianfu was more mature in the integration and application of Chinese and Western techniques, paying attention to the rendering of spatial atmosphere and painting light and shadow. In terms of modeling, it is meticulously crafted, strives to be realistic, and has created many masterpieces.

The art of Gao Jianfu's late period (1938-1951) has a clear tendency to return to literati painting, and there is a great deal of emphasis on the brush and ink in traditional Chinese painting than before. The painting style has changed from realistic to freehand, the content of the picture is more concise, and the grasp of the artistic conception and charm in traditional Chinese painting is also more profound.

During this period, Gao Jianfu's paintings were purely art created for his own state of mind, and the personal feelings in the paintings were more real, and such creation was what the ancients often said about "the source of the heart".