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

Lin Fengmian was born in Meixian, Guangdong province. From 1920 to 1925 he studied painting in France, initially in Marseilles but mostly in Paris, taking a great interest in Western art. Lin Fengmian was, with Liu Haisu and Xu Beihong, the principal artist responsible for the direct introduction of Western painting methods. On his return to China he became Professor of Painting at the National Art School in Peking, and in 1927 founding principal of the National Art Academy in Hangzhou. He gave up administration in the 1950s and thereafter concentrated on painting. Many of his pupils established successful careers, and his adoption of Western colour and painting style has been one of the major influences in twentieth century painting in China. This was a favoured subject of Lin Fengmian; a closely comparable painting dated 1946, in the collection of Wu Guangzhong, is published in Lin 1994 vol.1, no.33.