Spring lasts forever in traditional paintings

Filled with connotations of renewal and rebirth, spring serves as a powerful symbol, which is why it is often a focus of gongbi painting, the traditional Chinese art of using fine brushwork to depict flowers and birds in detail.

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Yu Jigao, a person whose name is synonymous with the style, has made it his life's work to capture the season's beauty in a lasting form.

Drawing on the teachings of two masters in the field - Chen Zhifo and Fu Baoshi - Yu carries on this traditional style from the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties while helping it to evolve into a modern genre.

Rather than being flamboyant and fake, Yu's paintings are simple and lifelike thanks to the spiritual sources of his creative work - his recollections of the scenery in his native southern China as well as his experiences, observations and perception of life.

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The uniqueness of Yu's art originates from his ability to combine the essential features of palatial painting and folk art in creating his own special art style. He adopts the grace and magnanimity of palatial painting while paying enough attention to the delicacy and exquisiteness without overlooking any detail in pursuit of perfection.

Yu's work is not only appropriate for academic study but also for show because the artist's deep love for nature and life is expressed naturally in every piece of his work.

The subject matter of Yu's paintings includes natural scenery, like lakes and pine trees, as well as flowers and birds that symbolize good fortune, such as peonies leaning on rocks, lotus blossoms and winter plum blossoms.

The composition of the paintings is greatly varied as well. He uses almost everything, including size, weight, density, the degree of solidity, the extent of prominence, posture and the interrelation between all these elements to achieve the ingenuity and richness of a painting. The composition is always precise and well balanced.

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In gongbi painting, getting the right color and producing clear lines have always been important aspects, and mastering these techniques proves tricky for many. Yu Jigao, as a master artist, has perfected the use of form and color.

Yu excels in the use of the color powder white in his paintings. To him, powder white is not only a useful tool for creating other colors but an important pigment to depict objects, especially flowers and bird feathers.

He said it is important to render the feel and the special features. Every petal delicately expresses the special character of the flower. .

Yu wins over those who view his paintings with their form, colors, lineal effects, radiance and spirit thanks to his careful study of objects and artistic sensitivity that enables his brushwork to combine realistic depiction with free expression.

With its grace and natural beauty, Yu Jigao's work holds true to the Confucian aesthetic of balance and elegance.

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Yu's work has earned him great renown, leading many government entities to commission works by him. Since 1959, he has created many large paintings for the State Council, Zhongnanhai, the Tian'anmen Rostrum, the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the office of the State Chairman and its Reception Hall.

These paintings include Peonies and Doves, Pines and Cranes in Lasting Spring, Six Cranes Share the Spring, Spring, Ode to Lotus, Plums and Cranes Ushering in Spring, Spring Over the World, Green Pines and Good Cranes Bathed in Morning Sunshine.

As deputy director of the Academy of Chinese Gongbi Painting of Flowers and Birds, deputy chairman of the Jiangsu Art Association, and State top-level artist, Yu has always maintained a simple, easy-going style and a good work ethic as well as perseverance typical of the older generation of artists.

"Smiling every day makes you look good, while eating less than enough to make you full keeps you from getting old. Don't try to look for ways to stay young. Staying calm and away from interest in fame and fortune are better than medical therapies of any kind," Yu said.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn