Imprinted Life discussion

An Artistic Exile: A Life of Feng Zikai /Geremie Randall Barme.
'Introduction' and 'Taking Nature as Master'.
He was an artist, writer, and translator, born in the silk-producing town of Shimenwan, and is a major figure in twentieth-century Chinese art. Most interesting was the way he learned to paint and draw through tracing and painting from art books. Feng created his own childhood toy figures from modeling clay. Townspeople and other students asked the young artist to paint portraits and make drawings in return for payment.

Feng attends Zhejiang First Normal School to become a teacher, finding its atmosphere "overbearing", befriending a romantic and nonconformist individualist Yang Bohao.

2. Journey to the East
Feng and Bohao join a Western-inspired art group, Tongyin Art Society, which emphasizes representative painting from nature and living models instead of impressionistic Chinese art. Feng original interest in pedagogy turns to art, nevertheless teaching elementary students briefly before his leaving his village of Shimenwan for Shangai, where he decides to be educated further in art in Japan (1921+). He is twenty-years-old, married, and with one child. This part of his life story occurs in China's May 4th (ca 1917-27) period of "radical cultural reform and modernization".

The book in my humble opinion is dense with detail, interestingly written, as well as an art book with Feng's and other artists' exquisite drawings, some of them in mediums such as black ink. Readers familiar with China will jump right into this beautiful book which is Feng's biography, Chinese art history, and a bit of Chinese history.

Since An Artistic Exile is nonfiction, I'll tell you what the end of Chapter 2 and the beginning of Chapter 3 are about.

Chapter 2 cont'd--
Feng goes for a few months to study Westernized art in Tokyo. He comes under the artistic influence of three artists: Takehisa Yumeji of the late-Meiji (early 1900s) who did "Four Seasons"; Chen Shizang known for "Beijing Custom" who depicted "prosaic" rather than noble figures; and Qing painter Zeng Yandong known for "Little Bean Shed", figure painting, and landscapes, especially bamboo.

Chapter 3--
Feng returns to China, initiating with others Chunhui High School, situated on a "bucolic" lakeside. An important artist here is Tao Yuanming. We're thinking pictures of weeping willow and even peony.

I've really enjoyed your updates, Asmah. I have yet to start the book, but I did find this online gallery of his paintings. Some pretty neat stuff!

The Feng Zikai Painting Gallery is awesome, Hesper.