Chen Dayu (21 May 1912 – 1 June 2001) (), was a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

calligrapher 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 exp ...

, seal carver and educator.

Early life and education

Chen was born in Chaoyang,

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 ...

province, as Chen Hanqing. In spite of his impoverished childhood, he developed an abiding passion for artistic pursuits. After studying under Zhu Lesan, Zhu Wenyun and Wang Geyi, he graduated from Shanghai Art College in 1935.

Career

In 1946, Chen went to Beijing to become an apprentice of artist

Qi Baishi Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painting, Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his works. Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi taught himself to paint, sparked by the Ma ...

to learn the art of freehand flower-and-bird paintings. During the apprenticeship, he changed his name to Chen Ao as a tribute to his instructor. Two years later, he lectured at the Shanghai Academy of Art until he left in 1950 to become a Professor of Art at the

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

Institute of Art. He also began a long side career as a flower-and-bird painter, calligrapher and a seal carver, but he's best known for his numerous paintings of a rooster. In 1980, his work was displayed at the

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Museum of Art and the following year at the Shanghai Museum of Art. Chen was adept at both Chinese style and western painting. In his later years he developed a distinctly personal artistic style. His series of rooster paintings are celebrated worldwide.

Death

After retiring to Nanjing, Chen died on 1 June 2001.

Exhibitions

Chen's work has been featured in various exhibitions at the

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco – Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture"About"
Asian Art Museum website. ...

over years. Three major collections of Chen’s paintings have been published: in 1948, in 1982, and in Japan in 1988. A major exhibition centenary exhibition, included 140 of his inkwash paintings, toured China in 2011-13.Guangzhou International: Chen Dayu's 100th Birthday Art Exhibition
Accessed 17 August 2014

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Dayu 20th-century Chinese painters Painters from Guangdong 1912 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Chinese calligraphers People from Chaoyang District, Shantou Educators from Guangdong