Chen Peiqiu (29 December 1922 – 26 June 2020) was a Chinese calligrapher and ''

guohua 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 ...

'' painter, often acclaimed as the foremost Chinese woman painter. She and her husband

Xie Zhiliu Xie Zhiliu (; 1910–1997) was a leading traditional painter, calligrapher, and art connoisseur of modern China. He was a noted member of the Shanghai School of art. Xie and his wife Chen Peiqiu are one of the most famous couples in Chinese ar ...

were one of the most famous couples in Chinese visual arts. The government of

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 ...

opened a museum in

Nanhui New City Nanhui New City () is a planned city located in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai, China. It was formerly called Lingang New City (临港新城) until it was renamed in April 2012. Construction began in 2003 and is scheduled to be completed in ...

dedicated to them.

Biography

Chen Peiqiu was born in 1922 in

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing dynasty naval fleet bas ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

Province. During the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, she took refuge with her family in

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

Province. In childhood she was influenced by her mother, who was an artist, but Chen was more interested in engineering, as she thought it would be more beneficial to the society. Although she was accepted by the engineering department of

National Southwestern Associated University The National Southwestern Associated University was a national public university from 1938 to 1946 based in Kunming, Yunnan, China. It was formed by the wartime incorporation of National Peking University, National Tsinghua University, and Nat ...

, her family opposed her choice and forced her to transfer to the economics department. She ended up not attending the university. During World War II, Kunming was a major hub for refugees from all over China. Chen attended an art exhibition of Huang Junbi, a prominent painter of the

Lingnan School The Lingnan School () was an art movement active in the late Qing dynasty and Republic of China that sought to modernize Chinese painting through borrowing from other artistic traditions. Established by the brothers Gao Jianfu and Qifeng, to ...

. With Huang's encouragement, she applied to the

National Academy of Art The China Academy of Art (CAA; ) is a provincial public college of fine arts in Hangzhou. Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Zhejiang. The academy is part of the Double First-Class Construction The World First-Class Un ...

(now China Academy of Art in

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 ...

) and was accepted. She was influenced by Professor

Li Keran Li Keran (; 26 March 1907 – 5 December 1989), art name Sanqi, was a contemporary Chinese '' guohua'' painter and art educator. Considered one of the most important Chinese artists in the latter half of the 20th century, he was also an influenti ...

and other artists who taught at the academy. She studied

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 ...

(''guohua'') and graduated in 1950. Chen specialized in traditional Chinese painting, especially landscape, flowers, and birds, although she was also interested in

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 ...

and

postimpressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

. She exhibited in the first

Shanghai Biennale The Shanghai Biennale is one of the highest-profile contemporary art events in Shanghai and the most established art biennale in China. It was initially held in the Shanghai Art Museum. From 2012 on, it has been hosted in Power Station of Art, th ...

in 2000. Chen was married to the famous painter

(1910–1997), with whom she often collaborated. They are one of the best known couples in Chinese art.

Art market

Chen Peiqiu is one of the most prominent modern women artists in China. She has been listed on every edition of the Hurun Art List of best-selling living Chinese artists at auction, since its inception, until her death in 2020. In 2016, she was ranked number 16 on the list with sales of US$7.9 million. Only three of the top 100 artists on the list were women, and Chen was the highest-ranked among them. One of her landscape paintings was sold in 2014 for $3.4 million.

Honours

In late 2014, Chen Peiqiu was awarded the lifetime achievement award of the Shanghai Art and Literature Prize. In 2015, the Shanghai municipal government opened the Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu Art Gallery in

Pudong Pudong is a list of administrative divisions of Shanghai, district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu River, Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank (g ...

, in honour of the artist couple. Some of her

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 ...

is also preserved at the Tianfei Palace in

Songjiang Songjiang, from the Chinese for "Pine River" and formerly romanized as Sungkiang, usually refers to one of the following areas within the municipal limits of Shanghai: * Songjiang, Shanghai, a present suburban district of Shanghai * Songjiang Pre ...

's Fangta Park..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Peiqiu 1922 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Chinese calligraphers 21st-century Chinese calligraphers China Academy of Art alumni Chinese women painters Painters from Henan People from Nanyang, Henan Women calligraphers