
Huang Binhong (1864-1955)
Huang
Binhong was born in Zhejiang Province, the grandson of the well regarded artist
Huang Fengliu. Huang studied painting and then spent many years editing literary
and art journals in Shanghai. Huang Binhong taught painting at fine arts colleges
in Shanghai and Beijng until he moved to Hangzhou in 1948 where he taught
at the West Lake Art College.
Huang Binhong was a master of freehand landscape painting and he was well
versed in the works of the great masters of the past. Though he imitated many
of their techniques, Huang Binhong experimented with the use of ink and stroke.
He achieved effects with shading and layering that have seldom been equaled
. Huang Binhong achieved a simple yet profound effect in his landscapes by
the use of thick dark ink over which he applied light or heavy coloring. His
work was also known for its powerful brushwork and its fresh approach to composition.
In 1953 on his 90th birthday, Huang Binhong was awarded the title of "Outstanding
Painter of the Chinese People." After his death in 1955, a Huang Binhong Museum
was established in his home in Hangzhou.