Lin Fengmian

• Lin Fengmin (1900-1991), was born in a farmer’s family in Meixian Guangdong. He studied calligraphy and Chinese painting at an early age while helping his grandfather. At the age of 18, he went to France as a working study and began studying oil painting. He then moved to Germany, and was attracted by the masters of classical European painting, at the same time became interested in Impressionism and modern literature. His brushstrokes were widely different from traditional Chinese painting, and he adopted “Western” expression. However, the artistic expresses embodies the Orient and strongly expresses the beauty of Chinese tradition. He adopted watercolor and gouache painting methods. For example, the landscape paintings do not seem traditional Chinese expressions, but the overall picture shows the deep taste, charm, and poetic expression of Chinese paintings.