In the late 1970s, while studying at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, I often spent Saturday mornings watching visiting painters at work. The academy invited established artists to demonstrate their approach to composition, brushwork and ink. Some of those mornings have stayed with me ever since.
Twice, the academy invited painters I had suggested, one from Xi’an and the other from Shanghai. I appreciated this generosity. Most guests came from Beijing; inviting someone from another city meant arranging travel, accommodation and meals.
The landscape painter Lu Yanshao
The painter from Shanghai was Lu Yanshao (陸儼少), who remains one of my favorites. He already had a reputation there, but in Beijing I felt that attention was still directed mainly toward painters from the capital. When he came, however, a substantial group of teachers and students gathered to watch.
I was still near the beginning of my studies. Looking at his powerful, expressive landscapes, so full of movement, I had imagined that he painted with great vigor and speed.
The paper was laid out and the ink prepared. Lu Yanshao entered the room, an elderly man, quiet and thoughtful. He sat down and began to paint. Each stroke was placed carefully, very slowly. By the end of the session, he had not even finished half the picture.
At one point, the pause between two strokes became unusually long. A teacher called out, “Master Lu, Master Lu!” He gave a start and returned to his brushwork. He had actually fallen asleep while painting.
The contrast between the energy of his paintings and the slowness of his hand is what I remember most clearly. Watching him unsettled my early assumption that a dynamic painting must be made quickly.
I took the photograph below on the day of his demonstration.
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