Zhu qizhan biography of albert

He died aged Zhu Qizhan painting in his studio in Shanghai in the s. Courtesy Shuishi Xuan Collection. His still lifes and landscapes are renowned for their exuberance of spirit and his deliberate integration of Western and Chinese influences. By the age of 18, Zhu had witnessed the fall of the Qing Dynasty in , and become an active participant in the fight for a cultural renaissance in the arts.

As the new Nationalist Government imposed social and economic reforms, young, fiercely radical writers and painters agitated for a Chinese modern art — one that embraced science and technology and looked for inspiration towards the avant-garde movements happening in Europe. Zhu Qizhan , Big Goose Pagoda , circa s. Handscroll, ink and colour on paper.

Fragrance in Deep Garden Ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll Inscribed and signed Zhu Qizhan, with four seals of the artist Dated xinwei year ().

Albums of his sketches in the exhibition reveal a vigorous, tightly worked aesthetic. A rare example of a handscroll from this period is pictured above. During the Cultural Revolution artists and scholars were expelled from their teaching posts, beaten and forced to undergo re-education, and banned from making art. At the age of 75, Zhu was ordered to become a street sweeper.

Zhu Qizhan , Pomegranates and Grapes , Scroll, mounted and framed, ink and colour on paper. When Zhu fell ill in the s, he was given permission to recover at home and it was here, in his early 80s, that he began to paint again. The results were startlingly original; he produced sophisticated still-life and landscape paintings using ancient techniques and calligraphic motifs.

The work Returning in Springtime , below, reflects his skilful virtuosity.