Lin Yushan (; 1 April 1907 – 20 August 2004), originally named Lin Yinggui (), was a Taiwanese visual artist.

Early life

Lin was raised in a family-owned picture framing store. Lin grew up with an early passion for painting, and his first instructors were folk painters hired by his family. He also spent much of his early years learning from artists such as Tan Ting-pho and Isaka Kyokko.

Education

Between 1926 and 1929, he lived in Japan and studied

Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competiti ...

at the Kawabata Painting School. In 1927, his works ''Water Buffalo'' and ''Southern Gate'' were selected for the 1st ''Taiten'' ( Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition), where, together with Chen Jin and Kuo Hsueh-hu, he became known as one of the "Three Youths of Taiten". After this, he was selected in each subsequent year of the ''Taiten''. His works ''Lotus Pond'', ''Sugar Cane'', and ''Evening Glow'' were named as special selections for the 4th, 6th, and 7th ''Taiten''s, respectively.

Work and public life

Aside from participating in exhibitions, he also actively participated in various types of painting societies such as Chiayi's Chun-Meng Painting Society (Tainan artist Pan Chun-yuan also participated the society), Crow Society, Mo-Yang Painting Group, and the Zili Society, as well as Northern painting societies like the “Sandalwood Association” and the “Liguang Society”. In order to advance his art Lin went back to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

to continue advanced studies at Insho Domoto's Art School Tokyusha from 1935 to 1936. During this time, he imitated the styles of

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

painters and became better acquainted with

Chinese painting Chinese painting () is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as , meaning "national painting" or "native painting", as opposed to Western styles of art which b ...

. Starting in 1938, he drew illustrations for serialized novels in newspapers and popular fiction books. The illustrations for

Yang Kui Yang Kui (; 18 October 1906 – 12 March 1985) or Yō Ki, originally named Yang Kui (楊貴), was a Taiwanese writer and social activist born in Tainan, Taiwan. He used pen names such as Yang-kuei (楊逵), Yang Chien-wen (楊建文), Lai Chien- ...

’s interpretations of

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

and

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

were among Lin's famous works. In 1946, he served as a juror for the Chinese Painting Section of the 1st Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition. In 1972, after

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...

paintings were removed from the Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibitions, he and some other gouache painters formed the “Chang Liu Painting Society”. In addition to his creative work, Lin also contributed to the education of new artistic talents. He taught at Provincial Chiayi Senior High School and Blessed Imelda's School. In 1951, he was hired by the Art Department of National Taiwan Normal University, where he stayed until his retirement in 1977.http://chenchengpo.asdc.sinica.edu.tw

Contributions to art

Lin promoted en

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

painting, which he considered an important foundation of painting. His work centered thematically on bird-and-flower, landscapes, and figures. Before 1946, most of his works used a fine-brush technique. Afterwards, he shifted toward a more freehand style while continuing to use fine-brush techniques. Among Lin's works, some are characterized by abstraction, such as 1966's Ivy. In addition to his paintings, Lin also wrote reflections on his creative experiences and life as an artist. His written works include 1955's “Vicissitudes of the Way of Art”, 1964's “A Study of Bird-and-Flower Painting”, and 1968's “An Outline of the Beginning of Chinese Painting”.

References

External links