Lin Fengmian

Lin Fengmian (November 22, 1900 - August 12, 1991), formerly known as Lin Fengming, was a native of Xiyang, Meixian County, Guangdong Province. He was a Chinese painter and educator, an enlightener of modern Chinese art, and one of the pioneers of modern Chinese painting that integrated Chinese and Western elements. Together with Yan Wenliang, Xu Beihong and Liu Haisu, he was known as one of the "Four Principals". Six years old was in trouble, and his loving mother was sold, and the lifelong search failed. He copied "The Mustard Seed Garden Painting Biography" since he was a child, and went to France to study at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was exposed to modern artistic styles such as Post-Impressionism and Fauvism. He also traveled to Germany and came into contact with Expressionism and Abstractionism. He returned to China in 1925 and was appointed as the principal of the Peking Art College, launching the art movement. In 1928, he founded the Hangzhou National Academy of Art (now the China Academy of Art) and served as its dean and professor. Together with Fang Qianmin and Wu Dayu, he became famous in the Western Painting Department, and his students Zhao Wou-ki, Zhu Dequn, and Wu Guanzhong became famous. During the Anti-Japanese War, the studio was covered in dust and many paintings were destroyed. He was dismissed from his post in 1937 and turned to study Western modern art. He was killed during the Cultural Revolution. He destroyed three thousand paintings and was imprisoned for four and a half years. He moved to Hong Kong in 1977 and lived in seclusion in Taikoo Shing. He died in Hong Kong in 1991.