Wu Guanzhong:“the Eastern Matisse”

2017-07-03TextbyXuKuang许旷

Special Focus 2017年6期

关键词：乞力马扎罗红莲

Text by Xu Kuang 许旷

Translation by Yu Lan 于兰

Wu Guanzhong:“the Eastern Matisse”

吴冠中：“东方马蒂斯”

Text by Xu Kuang 许旷

Translation by Yu Lan 于兰

On the night of June 4th, 2017, the Beijing Poly 2017 Spring“Chinese Contemporary Art Auction” ended in Beijing at the Four Seasons Hotel. 93 works were auctioned and the volume of transaction reached 166 million yuan. Wu Guanzhong’s Red Lotus, painted in 1974, and Mount Kilimanjaro, painted in 1975, were sold at the prices of 32.775 million yuan and 32.2 million yuan, respectively, and were the two most valuable works sold.

Wu Guanzhong was born in Yixin City, Jiangsu Province. In 1936, he entered the Hangzhou National College of Art, studying western painting under the guidance of Lin Fengmian. After graduation in 1942, he started teaching at Chongqing University.

In 1946, Wu furthered his study in France with a scholarship provided by the Ministry of Education. He was enrolled in the National Academy of Fine Art in Paris and studied western art history at the Louvre.

In the autumn of 1950, Wu Guanzhong returned to China and taught at the Central Academy of Fine Art in the Architectural Department of Tsinghua University, as well as the Beijing Art Institute and the Central Academy of Art and Design.

He was of the last group of painters that were sent abroad in the old China and the first group of painters that came back to serve the new China. He has a thorough knowledge of both Chinese and Western art. He studied the ponds, lotus, and willow of Monet, the green forests of Cezanne, the scenery and characters of Vincent Van Gogh, the lyrical paintings of Utrillo, and the lines of Matisse. Being a distinctive and distinguished painter in both the field of oil painting and traditional Chinese painting, he is called “the Eastern Matisse.”

In 1991, Wu was made an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. In 1992, the British Museum broke the convention of only exhibiting ancient relics, holding a personal exhibition for the living painter Wu Guanzhong for the first time. In 1993, Musee Cernuschi in Paris held an event“Look to the World—Wu Guanzhong Oil Painting and Ink Painting Sketch Exhibition” and awarded him with the“Golden Medal of Paris.”

In 1999, China’s National Ministry of Culture held “An Exhibition of Wu Guanzhong’s Paintings.” In 2000, he became the first Asian artist to be awarded the Médaille des Arts et Lettres by the Académie des Beaux-Arts de l’Institut de France in the 200 years since the establishment of the institute.

In the eyes of Western people, the Chinese paintings of Wu Guanzhong contain the features and elements of Eastern culture. In the eyes of Eastern people, his paintings reflect the style and form of Western art—possessing a new aesthetic orientation of its own.

A few representative paintings by Wu Guanzhong are carefully singled out for the benefit of readers.

2017年6月4日晚，北京保利2017春拍“中国现当代艺术夜场”在北京四季酒店收槌，共上拍93件作品，实现总成交额1.66亿元。其中，吴冠中作于1974年和1975年的《红莲》和《乞力马扎罗雪山》分别以3277.5万元和3220万元成交，成为本场拍卖价格前两位的拍品。

吴冠中，1919年出生于江苏宜兴。自1936年进入国立杭州艺专，在林风眠的指导下开始研习西洋绘画。1942年毕业后，在国立重庆大学执教。

1946年，吴冠中获教育部奖学金赴法国留学，就读于巴黎的国立高等美术学校，同时在卢浮宫研习西洋美术史。

1950年秋，吴冠中返国。先后任教于中央美术学院、清华大学建筑系、北京艺术学院、中央工艺美术学院。

吴冠中是旧中国最后一批去法国留学的画家，也是新中国第一批从西方回国报效祖国的画家。他学贯中西，研究过莫奈的池塘睡莲垂柳、塞尚的绿色丛林、梵高的风景人物、尤脱利罗抒情画、马蒂斯的线条，无论在油画界，还是国画界，吴冠中都是位个性鲜明、当之无愧的绘画大家，被称为“东方的马蒂斯”。

1991年，法国文化部授予其“法国文艺最高勋位”。1992年，大英博物馆打破只展出古代文物的惯例，首次为在世画家吴冠中举办个展。1993年，法国巴黎塞纽奇博物馆举办“走向世界——吴冠中油画水墨速写展”，并给他颁发“巴黎市金勋章”。

1999年，国家文化部主办“吴冠中画展”。2000年，吴冠中入选法兰西学院艺术院通讯院士，成为法兰西学院成立近二百年来，首位获此称号的亚洲人。

在西方人眼中，吴冠中的中国画作品极具东方文化特征与特色，在亚洲及国人的眼中，其绘画艺术又展现出西方艺术的情结与形式，有着全新的审美取向。

本刊特选取吴冠中的几幅代表作，以飨读者。