- Lin Fengmian
Lin Fengmian (Chinese: 林風眠;
1900 -August 12 ,1991 ), originally Lin Fengming (林凤鸣), was a Chinese painter and is considered a pioneer of modernChinese painting for blending Chinese and Western painting styles. He was also an important innovator in the area of Chinese art education.Biography
Born in
Mei County, Guangdong , like many of his peers, Lin partipicated in the "Diligent Work and Economical Study", ("Jinggong Jianxue" 勤工儉學) program, a work-study program in China during that time. Similar to his compatriotXu Beihong , Lin spent the early years of his career in Europe, moving to France in 1920 and studying painting in France. In 1923, he later moved toBerlin , Germany. In 1925 he returned to China, where he became the principal of the Beiping State Vocational Art School (北平藝術專門學校). In 1928, with encouragement fromCai Yuanpei , he helped found the antecedent of theChina Academy of Art , becoming its first principal.Lin's works and life were met with great tragedy. While many of his early works were destroyed by Japanese soldiers during the
Sino-Japanese War , many of his later works were destroyed during theCultural Revolution . After being heavily criticized and denounced by theGang of Four , Lin personally destroy his own works by soaking and then flushing his works down the toilet; however, he still ended up being imprisoned for over four years.In 1977, he was finally allowed to leave for
Hong Kong , where he remained until his death. After his release, Lin slowly began to recreate many of his previously destroyed works.
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