Gao Qifeng

Gao Qifeng (July 10, 1889 - November 2, 1933), whose given name was Shan, also known as Qifeng, was born in Panyu, Guangdong. He was a modern Chinese painter and art educator. Together with his brothers Gao Jianfu and Chen Shuren, he was known as the "Two Gao and One Chen" or the "Three Masters of Lingnan". He was one of the founders of the Lingnan School of Painting. He is famous for his paintings of flowers, birds and animals, as well as landscapes, figures and calligraphy. His works combine traditional Chinese brush and ink and color with the sketching, light, shadow, and space expression methods he came into contact with in Japan, forming a style that is both vigorous and graceful. He believed that painting should change with the times, and valued the educational role of art. He opposed blindly imitating the ancients, and did not approve of learning painting as a means of seeking fame or personal entertainment. He attached great importance to sketching and background rendering, and extended the techniques of water and powder in Ju's flower-and-bird paintings to subjects such as animals, mountains and rocks, especially lions, tigers, eagles, etc. to express majestic momentum. Apes, white horses, flowers and religious figures are also common subjects. His artistic descriptions are mainly found in articles such as "Beauty and Education" and "Painting is Not a Dead Thing". His later works tend to use concise and extended freehand brushwork. Gao Qifeng came from a poor family when he was young. He studied painting with Gao Jian's father and went to Japan in 1907 to study. After the Revolution of 1911, he and his brother founded the "Truth Pictorial" in Shanghai, using pictures, photography and text to promote republican ideas and art innovation ideas. He also participated in running an aesthetic library, editing and publishing art publications. After returning to Guangzhou in 1918, he taught at Guangdong No. 1 Class A Industrial School and opened an aesthetics museum. In 1925, he was appointed as an honorary professor at Lingnan University. After that, he gradually shifted his focus to painting and teaching. In 1929, Gao Qifeng went to Ersha Island in Guangzhou to recuperate due to lung disease. Later, he lived in Tianfeng Tower and continued to discuss art and painting with his disciples. In 1933, he went to Shanghai to participate in the preparations for China's art exhibition in Germany. On the way, his illness relapsed. He died in Shanghai on November 2 of the same year. In 1936, he was buried in Qixia Mountain, Nanjing. Among his disciples, seven of them, including Zhao Shao'ang, Zhang Kunyi, and Huang Shaoqiang, were collectively known as the "Seven Sons of Tianfeng". They continued to engage in painting, teaching and painting activities, allowing their painting style to continue.