Lim Tze Peng (, 28 September 1921 – 3 February 2025) was a Singaporean artist. He was awarded a

Cultural Medallion The Cultural Medallion () is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, Literature of Singapore, literature, Music of Singapore, music, photography, art and Cinema of Singapore, film ...

in 2003 in recognition of his contribution to the country's art and culture. In June 2021, it was reported that he was still producing art at the age of 99.

Background

Lim Tze Peng (Lim Swee Lian) was born on 28 September 1921 in Singapore to a family of pig and chicken farmers in

Pasir Ris Pasir Ris ( or ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential town located in the East Region, Singapore, East Region of Singapore. It is bordered by Tampines and Paya Lebar to the south, Sengkang to ...

. He was the eldest of seven children. Lim studied at Guangyang Primary School and

Chung Cheng High School (Main) Chung Cheng High School (Main) is a co-educational government-aided autonomous Special Assistance Plan (SAP) secondary school in Singapore. Founded in 1939 as Chiang Kai-shek High School, it is one of the eleven SAP secondary schools in Singap ...

. In 1949, Lim became a primary school teacher at Xin Min School and then became principal in 1951. He remained as principal until he retired in 1981. Lim was humble by nature, and went about in his quiet way doing what he loved best without fanfare. He was content to stay in the background, preferring his paintings speak for themselves. Lim was also an artist with a mission, and that mission was to remind Singaporeans of their heritage. Lim died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in Singapore on 3 February 2025, at the age of 103.

Painting career

A self-taught artist, Lim was skilled in Chinese brush 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 ...

. The only formal art training he had was the drawing classes he attended in his school days. Lim started learning how to paint in his twenties and after his retirement, started to paint professionally. Lim opted for an early retirement from his job as a school principal in 1981 in order to spend his time painting scenes of the

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper drainage basin, watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Plann ...

Boat Quay Boat Quay is a historical quay in Singapore which is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River on its southern bank. It spans from the shophouses near UOB Plaza, stretching along one bank of the Singapore River, all the way till El ...

, Hock Lim Street,

Merchant Road A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

, Smith Street, Trengganu Street, Sago Lane, and Pagoda Street. Painting for Lim meant sketching on the spot with Chinese ink and brush. It was a total experience in that he took in what he saw and felt at a single moment in time, selecting, analysing, composing, and recording details simultaneously. His handling of tonal values and the swift notations of light and dark complemented the decisive brush strokes to give life and movement to the subject matter. The calligraphic brushwork, rooted in the artist's deep knowledge of Chinese writing, is the most characteristic feature of Lim's work. In 2003, Lim was awarded the

and in 2016, he was awarded the

Pingat Jasa Gemilang The Pingat Jasa Gemilang () is a Singaporean national honour and medal instituted in 1962. It may be awarded to any person who has performed "''service of conspicuous merit characterised by resource and devotion to duty, including long service ...

(Meritorious Service Medal).

Influences

Lim scrutinised the masterpieces of the leading Chinese artists in history. He was convinced that the power of their work often resided in one singular aspect which dominated their overall achievements. His observations are revealing: the visual power of

Pan Tianshou Pan Tianshou (; March 14, 1897– September 5, 1971) was a Chinese painter and art educator. Pan was born in Guanzhuang, Ninghai County, Zhejiang Province, and graduated from Zhejiang First Normal School (now Hangzhou High School). He studied ...

's (1897–1971) paintings radiates from the massiveness of his expansive forms; that of

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 ...

's (1863–1957) from his overpowering sensitivity of touch; that of Wu Changshou's (1844–1927) from his intriguing balance of the painterly dynamics in his art. Works in Chinese art history impressed him, particularly those characterised by a tremendous sense of directness, the orthodox and liberation. He singled out

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

artists such as

Xu Wei Xu Wei (, 1521–1593), also known as Qingteng Shanren (), was a Chinese painter, playwright, poet, and tea master during the Ming dynasty. Cihai: Page 802.Barnhart: Page 232. Life Xu's courtesy names were Wenqing (文清) and then later Wenc ...

(1521–1593) and

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

artists such as Pu Huan (1832–1911), whose dynamic works remain as powerful as they are contemporary today.

Old Singapore series

In 1981, Lim plunged into an uninterrupted marathon race to complete a large number of Singapore scenes which had captured his imagination. This feat produced 300 ink paintings, covering a range of places which included Teochew Street, Amoy Street,

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, Elgin Bridge, shop houses and sweeping overviews of the

. ''The Old Singapore Series'' became a visual documentation of Singapore’s changing cityscape during a time when the country’s urban renewal was happening at a hectic pace.

Artists' residency in Paris

In 2000, Lim took up a two-month artists' residency in the

Cité internationale des arts The Cité internationale des arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialities and nationalities in Paris. It comprises two sites, one located in the Marais and the other in Montmartre. Approximately ...

, occupying an apartment belonging to the

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA; zh, 南洋艺术学院; ; ) is a publicly-funded post-secondary arts institution in Singapore, and a constituent college of the University of the Arts Singapore (UAS) from 2024. NAFA offers courses at high-s ...

(NAFA) in Singapore. His residency resulted in a body of works documenting the Parisian landscape, which included landmarks such as the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

, the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (Par ...

, the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

, and

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

as well as Parisian scenes of sidestreets and cafés. He later donated 45 of these Chinese ink and colour paintings to NAFA.

Major exhibitions

Awards

Bibliography

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References

External links

NHB Press Release on exhibition ''Tze Peng'' in 2003

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Tze Peng 1921 births 2025 deaths Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean ink painters Singaporean artists Singaporean men centenarians Recipients of the Cultural Medallion for art Recipients of the Pingat Pentadbiran Awam Recipients of the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang Deaths from pneumonia in Singapore