Huáng Bīnhóng (; January 27, 1865– March 25, 1955) was a Chinese literati painter and

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

born in

Jinhua Jinhua is a prefecture-level city in central Zhejiang province in eastern China. It borders the provincial capital of Hangzhou to the northwest, Quzhou to the southwest, Lishui to the south, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the east, and Shaoxin ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

province. His ancestral home was She County,

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

province.Cihai: Page 2056. He was the grandson of artist Huang Fengliu. He would later be associated with

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and finally

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

. He is considered one of the last innovators in the literati style of painting and is noted for his freehand landscapes.

Biography

Huang's father was a merchant and art enthusiast, propelling Bīnhóng interest in painting. However, his father's business collapsed in 1888; the family moved to Shexian (their native land). He would develop a connection with the land, growing a fondness towards Xinan literature and painting, which he would later emulate the styles of. Moreover, he collected and studying ancient seals. As an opposer of the Manchu Dynasty, he became involved in revolutionary activities, but he fled to Shanghai when he was exposed. There, he became a publisher and editor for various art books.

Artistic Inspiration

His early painting style showed the influence of Li Liufang (李流芳), Cheng Sui, Cheng Zhengkui, Kun Can, Hong Ren and the Yuan and Ming masters. It emphasized on the importance of the unification of positive and negative space; dark and light shades. Each brush line is powerful and precise. The compact touches, the graceful outlines and the elegant styles of Xin’an School of painting (新安画派) had a profound influence on Huang throughout his life. His style before the age of sixty is called the White-period.Wen, Guanghua (文光华) ''中国文化风采录·徽州文化 hinese culture and history · Huizhou culture'' (2010) After the age of sixty, Huang went to Guichi. The scenery of Guichi not only attracted the artist, but also had a great impact on his style. Huang changed from focusing on brush and line to focusing on ink and wash. He started to practice the painting style of Wu Zhen. In 1928, Huang visited

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

and

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and created a lot of works by sketching the real landscapes. Huang started to transit from his "White style" to "Black style". At the age of sixty nine to seventy, Huang visited

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

. He was inspired by the atmosphere of Mount Qingcheng in rain and the Qutang Gorge under moonlight. He utilized dripping, staining and layers of dense ink to illustrate the misty wet feeling of rain and the nightly view of mountains. Since then, his "black, dense, thick, heavy" style became his significant feature. From 1937 to 1948, Huang lived in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

for eleven years and most of his Black period paintings were done during that time. After that, he moved to

and started another new horizon in his art. Inspired by Western

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, he integrated the two major Chinese painting systems (Ink and wash painting and color painting) into a unity. Dots of red, green and blue pigment merged with layers of dense ink creating a luxuriant and richly integrated style in which he deftly manipulated solid and void. His varied style and creativity not only won him an honorary title, but also brought light into the modern Chinese art history.Zheng, Chenghang (郑成航) https://news.artron.net/20170330/n919987.html ''“内美静参——黄宾虹山水画展”浙江美术馆开幕 uang Binhing Landscape painting exhibition at Zhejiang Art Museum'' (2017)

Influence

He had significance for creating several societies devoted to painting and

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

References

Additional Sources

* Ci hai bian ji wei yuan hui (辞海编辑委员会). Ci hai (辞海). Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she (上海辞书出版社), 1979. *''Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum Oxford'' (67)

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

External links

Asia ArtnetBrief biography of and Paintings by Huang BinhongHuang Binhong - ''Sights Beheld While Travelling Along a River''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Binhong 1865 births 1955 deaths Chinese art historians 20th-century Chinese historians Qing dynasty painters 20th-century Chinese painters Painters from Zhejiang Commercial Press people People from Jinhua Jinan University alumni Historians from Zhejiang