Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

A catalogue of the Ashmolean collection of Chinese paintings by Shelagh Vainker (published Oxford, 2000).

Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford by Shelagh Vainker

Publications online: 222 objects

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River landscape with steamboat

  • Literature notes

    Fu Baoshi was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. From 1933 to 1935 he studied in Tokyo at the Imperial Art Academy, and on his return taught at the Central University in Nanjing where he was professor from 1935 to 1952; during the Sino-Japanese War he moved with the University to Chongqing (Chungking) in Sichuan and in 1946 he returned to Nanjing where he spent the rest of his life. He sat on artists' committees at both national and local levels and in 1959 collaborated with Guan Shanyue (q.v.) on the huge painting 'This land with so much beauty aglow' in the Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Fu wrote widely on the history of painting and in the 1930s developed his own style, to which he remained true throughout his career; he was deeply influenced by the Qing indiviualist painter Shi Tao, of whom he wrote a biography. Together with Huang Binhong (q.v.) he is regarded as the greatest literati painter of the twentieth century. See also Cat.No.31.
  • Description

    Fu Baoshi was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. From 1933 to 1935 he studied in Tokyo at the Imperial Art Academy, and on his return taught at the Central University in Nanjing from 1935 to 1952. During the Sino-Japanese War he moved with the University to Sichuan province, and in 1946 he returned to Nanjing where he spent the rest of his life. He sat on artists’ committees at both national and local levels. In 1959 he collaborated with Guan Shanyue on a huge landscape painting ‘This land with so much beauty aglow’ for Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, and is regarded as the one of the greatest literati painters of the 20th century.

    This river landscape is in Fu’s typical style, which he developed in the 1930s and to which he remained true throughout his career. He was deeply influenced by the Qing individualist painter Shi Tao, whose biography he wrote. The painting also features steam ships and light towers, signifying a new and modernized nation under socialist construction.

  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaChinaJiangsu province Nanjing (place of creation)
    Date
    1964
    Artist/maker
    Fu Baoshi (1904 - 1965) (artist)
    Material and technique
    ink and colour on paper; mounted on layers of paper, framed with ling silk pieces; backed with paper scroll
    Dimensions
    mount 192 x 74 cm (height x width)
    painting 54.5 x 61 cm (height x width)
    along roller 83 cm (length)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Purchased, 1965.
    Accession no.
    EA1965.254
  • Further reading

    Vainker, Shelagh, Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2000), no. 24 on p. 44, illus. p. 44 fig. 24

Past Exhibition

see (1)

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford by Shelagh Vainker

    Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

    Fu Baoshi was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. From 1933 to 1935 he studied in Tokyo at the Imperial Art Academy, and on his return taught at the Central University in Nanjing where he was professor from 1935 to 1952; during the Sino-Japanese War he moved with the University to Chongqing (Chungking) in Sichuan and in 1946 he returned to Nanjing where he spent the rest of his life. He sat on artists' committees at both national and local levels and in 1959 collaborated with Guan Shanyue (q.v.) on the huge painting 'This land with so much beauty aglow' in the Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Fu wrote widely on the history of painting and in the 1930s developed his own style, to which he remained true throughout his career; he was deeply influenced by the Qing indiviualist painter Shi Tao, of whom he wrote a biography. Together with Huang Binhong (q.v.) he is regarded as the greatest literati painter of the twentieth century. See also Cat.No.31.
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