What is Mr. Lu Xun's "own" art exhibition like?
In addition to his sharp brushstrokes, is there still a delicate emotion and an interesting soul?
Whether it is literature or art, Mr. Lu Xun has achieved the point of "having a light and a point of heat". This brilliant and all-encompassing aesthetic sense is the real treasure! From June 20th to August 20th, "Lu Xun's Art World - Exhibition of Cultural Relics from the Collection of Beijing Lu Xun Museum" was open to the public free of charge in the temporary exhibition hall on the third floor of my home, and the art world of a cultural giant was gradually presented to everyone.
Follow the footsteps of Stuffy Dun'er, take you into Lu Xun's art world, and experience the rich and colorful art collection and spiritual world of this literary giant!
—Editor's note
Exhibition view courtesy of Chengdu Museum
Chuanguan News reporter Zhang Bin
He has dabbled in a wide range of artistic disciplines, from collecting rubbings to advocating the emerging printmaking movement, from hand-drawn paintings to designing book covers...... On June 20th, the "Art World of Lu Xun - Exhibition of Cultural Relics from the Collection of Beijing Lu Xun Museum" was officially opened at the Chengdu Museum, and the art world of a cultural giant was gradually presented in front of the audience in Chengdu.
As a famous writer in the 20th century, Lu Xun devoted a lot of energy and effort to art activities in addition to a large number of creations and translations. This exhibition exhibits more than 110 pieces / sets of cultural relics related to Lu Xun's art world. The exhibition is co-organized by the Chengdu Museum and the Beijing Lu Xun Museum (Beijing New Culture Movement Memorial Hall) and will run until August 20. According to the latest news from the museum, the 18,000 tickets released online that day were sold out in the morning.
"Sprout Monthly", 1930, Shanghai Guanghua Book Company, collection of Lu Xun Museum, Beijing
A hobby of art that lasts throughout life
The art world is both warm and serious
"Read more books, draw more pictures; The book was not read, but there were a lot of achievements in painting, and the most fragmented was the embroidered portraits of "Wandering Kouzhi" and "Journey to the West", both of which have a large book. ”
The above is a record in Lu Xun's "From Baicao Garden to Sanwei Study". As Lu Xun said, he loved art when he was a teenager, and was keen to collect illustrated books such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Poetry and Painting Boat", and photographed and embroidered images in the books. In this exhibition, Lu Xun's enthusiasm for art can be clearly seen from the "Mustard Seed Garden Painting" collected by Lu Xun in his early days to the "Bogu Leaves" painted by Chen Laolian that he wanted to promote the publication of in his later years.
His love for art prompted Lu Xun to continue to study and even practice in his life. Among the exhibits are a number of book covers that Lu Xun has participated in, as well as his published printmaking albums, etc., which show that he has put his aesthetic concepts into practice. For example, one of the exhibits, "Qin and Han Wadang Characters", is a book that Lu Xun copied into a book based on Cheng Dunben in 1915.
There is also a warm side to Lu Xun's art world, which is reflected in a correspondence between Lu Xun and his wife, Xu Guangping. In 1926, Lu Xun and Xu Guangping separated for the first time, and at this time, Xu Guangping was pregnant. The careful Lu Xun carefully selected the letterhead painted with Xu Guangping's favorite loquat and the lotus pod that symbolized the birth of his son, revealing the warmth of the veins.
Letter from Lu Xun to Xu Guangping, May 15, 1929, Collection of Lu Xun Museum, Beijing
In January 1931, five young writers of the Left League, including Roushi and Bai Mang, were arrested. In February of the same year, he was secretly shot dead by reactionaries in Longhua, Shanghai. On the second anniversary of the martyr's death, Lu Xun wrote "In Memory of Forgetting". This time, the 15-page manuscript "For the Memory of Forgetting" is also on display, and through the pages of the manuscript, the audience can also feel the grief and indignation of Lu Xun "angrily looking for small poems in the knife bush".
I love printmaking
It embodies the spirit of struggle
It also contains aesthetic taste
Lu Xun has always had a soft spot for printmaking. He has personally edited and published a variety of foreign printmaking collections, and has helped woodcarvers publish a variety of printmaking collections. He is known as the "father of China's emerging woodcut prints".
Lu Xun's passion for printmaking can be seen in his collection. He introduced the advanced woodcut art of the time to a new generation of Chinese artists, enriching local creations. In this exhibition, there are not only works by Lu Xun collection of printmakers from the former Soviet Union and Germany, but also works from British and American printmakers.
German printmaking shows a gloomy and tragic tone, and can always reflect the life force of the masses at the bottom, and the German printmaker Kaisui Kohlerhuich is an important one in Lu Xun's printmaking collection. Among the exhibits in this exhibition are a number of woodblock prints by Lu Xun, such as "Weavers", "Bread", "Death" and so on. These works vividly present the tragic fate of the working class and the spirit of courageous struggle through the pictures with strong and clear knife carvings and unique lines.
Death in the 30s of the 20th century (German) Kaisui Kohler Huizhi Print, Collection of Lu Xun Museum, Beijing
It is understood that Lu Xun's attention and love for Japanese prints and other works of art began at the beginning of his study in Japan. In 1934, Lu Xun clearly expressed his attitude towards ukiyo-e in a letter to his Japanese friends: Regarding Japanese ukiyo-e artists, I liked Hokusai when I was young, and now I am Hiroshige, followed by the characters of Uchiyo-e. Among the exhibits in this exhibition are Utagawa Hiroshige's printmaking "Miyanoshichi" and Kitagawa Utagawa's printmaking "A Woman Reading the Scroll".
Lu Xun was enthusiastic about traditional Chinese woodcuts. He once re-engraved the "Ten Bamboo Zhai Notes" with his friend Zheng Zhenduo, and co-edited the "Peking Notes", which rejuvenated the ancient printing technology. In this exhibition, these two famous notebooks are also on display. "The audience can also feel Lu Xun's unique aesthetic taste through this piece of paper full of classical Chinese charm."
A corner of the exhibition hall of "Lu Xun's Art World", some of the prints on display are part of Lu Xun's collection Courtesy of Chengdu Museum
The collection of gold and stone rubbings is both large and extensive
Draw on tradition but don't stick to it
In addition to collecting prints from all over the world, the traditional collection of gold and stone rubbings is also one of Lu Xun's many hobbies. Lu Xun's hobby of collecting gold and stone began in 1913 and continued throughout his life.
A corner of the exhibition hall of "Lu Xun's Art World", showing part of Lu Xun's collection of gold and stone rubbings Courtesy of Chengdu Museum
It is worth noting that Lu Xun's collection of gold and stone is not only long, but also very considerable and rich in quantity and category. According to statistics, there are more than 6,000 pieces of gold and stone rubbings in Lu Xun's collection in the Lu Xun Museum, covering 12 categories such as Han portraits, bricks, tiles, and steles. This exhibition specially selects Lu Xun's collection of Han portrait stone rubbing, brick and stone, stele extension, brick extension, tile tuo, etc., including Jiaxiang Wu Ancestral Hall Han portrait, Nanyang Han portrait, Jin Baozi tablet and other fine works.
Lu Xun not only collected Han portrait stone bricks, but also sorted out and completed the "Catalogue of Han Portrait Collection", and even the book binding cover he designed also has elements of Han portrait bricks, and there are related exhibits in this exhibition. For example, in 1923, the New Wave Publishing House published "Peach-colored Clouds", the cover was designed by Lu Xun, and the pattern elements were taken from the Han portrait stone; In the same year, the "Sinology Quarterly" was published, with the cover designed by Lu Xun, and the elements also came from the moire pattern carved in stone of Han portraits.
At the same time, the rich collection of gold and stone also influenced Lu Xun's calligraphy style, and his calligraphy style was once rated by Guo Moruo as "far beyond the Song and Tang dynasties, and straight to the Wei and Jin dynasties". The exhibits in this exhibition, whether it is Lu Xun's calligraphy banners for Liu Yazi, Qu Qiubai and Shen Songquan, or Lu Xun's letters and copying, can reflect his unique style of simplicity and dilution.
Wu Yihan, deputy director of the exhibition department of Beijing Lu Xun Museum (Beijing New Culture Movement Memorial Hall), introduced that Lu Xun's research on the collection of gold and stone rubbings is different from the traditional sense of gold and stone appreciation, "He not only broadened the field of gold and stone collection, but also applied relevant elements to artistic practice, opening up a new perspective of gold and stone science." ”