Chen Chengpo

Chen Chengpo

Chen Chengpo ( Chinese  陳澄波  /  陈澄波 , Pinyin Chén Chéngpō ; born February 2, 1895 in Chiayi , Taiwan , Chinese Empire ; † March 25, 1947 ibid) was a Taiwanese painter during the Japanese rule .

Life

In 1926, while studying Western painting at the Tokyo Art School , he was the first Taiwanese painter to show his works in Japan's renowned Imperial Exhibition . This made Chen famous and, after graduating from 1929 to 1932, worked as a university lecturer in Shanghai . After his return to Taiwan in 1933, he was one of the most prominent personalities in his hometown Chiayi as a freelance artist. He attended the 7./8. Imperial exhibition and won the special prize of the 2./4. Taiwanese art exhibition . He was also a co-founder of the Taiyang (1934) and Qingchen (1940) artists' associations and made a significant contribution to the promotion of contemporary art in Taiwan.

style

In his style, Chen Chengpo was mainly based on western oil painting, especially impressionism . As one of the first modern painters in Taiwan, Chen was also one of the first artists to create modern works with Taiwanese motifs. His best-known pictures have landscapes and street scenes as their motifs, the depictions of his hometown Chiayi are particularly famous.

Death and aftermath

After the end of Japanese rule and the transfer of Taiwan to the Republic of China, Chen was elected as a member of the Chiayi City Council. During the incident of February 28, 1947 he was a member of a committee of citizens of the city, between the population and the Kuomintang - army should convey. During an attempt at mediation, he was captured by the army and publicly executed by firing squad on March 28th on the station square in Chiayi .

In the following years of the Kuomintang dictatorship in Taiwan, Chen's name was no longer mentioned and he and his work fell into oblivion. It was not until 1979 that the first posthumous exhibition of some of his works took place in Taipei. Today, Chen Chengpo is undisputedly recognized as one of the most important Taiwanese artists in history. After the democratization of Taiwan and the circumstances of his death became known, he also became a symbol of memory of the violent events of 1947.

In 1999, on the initiative of the painter's family, the Chen Chengpo Foundation was established, which organizes exhibitions at home and abroad in cooperation with various partners. At a traveling exhibition that took place in 2014 and 2015 through the cities of Tainan , Shanghai , Tokyo and Taipei , Chen's works were shown to a larger international audience for the first time. The first exhibition in the USA followed in April 2015 . A permanent exhibition of works by Chen Chengpo can be seen in the Chiayi Municipal Museum.

Works (selection)

• 

  Self-Portrait (1927)

• 

  Street in Chiayi (1927)

• 

  Street in Summer (1927)

• 

  Tamsui (1933)

• 

  Middle School in Tamsui (1936)

• 

  Park in Chiayi (1937)

• 

  Old houses in Hangzhou

• 

  Changrong High School for Girls (1941)

literature

• Lin Yuchun: Chen Chengpo . In: Zhongguo jujiang meishu zhoukan , Jinxiao chuban shiye, Taipei 1994. 林育淳: «陳澄波», «中國 巨匠 美術 周刊», 台北 ： 錦繡 出版 事業 股份有限公司, 17. September 1994
• Xueyuan zhong de suren huajia - Chen Chengpo , Xiongshi tushu gongsi, Taipei 1979. 雄獅 圖書 公司 （出版）: «學院 中 的 素 人 畫家 - 陳澄波», 台北 1979

Web links

Commons : Chen Cheng-po  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Chen Chengpo Foundation website
• Starting Out from 23.5 ° N: Chen Cheng-po , Academia Sinica website(Chinese / English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ News from the Taipei Times dated January 9, 2014
2. ↑ Taipei Times, April 3, 2015

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Chen is the family name here, Chengpo is the first name.