The dark side of the mountain: Huang Binhong (1865-1955) and artistic continuity in twentieth century China

Abstract

This thesis is an interpretive study of the life and art of Huang Binhong (1865-1955). It uses empirical and textual analysis to examine the landscape paintings of Huang Binhong in particular and places them within the historical context of a period of unprecedented political and social change in China. The thesis explores the background to Huang Binhong’s creative practice and the development of his artistic style and vision. It investigates Huang’s training as a Confucian scholar and his multiple identities as painter, art historian, art editor, teacher, collector and connoisseur. The first two chapters place Huang within the cultural milieu of the Lower Yangtze Valley and his ancestral home in Anhui, noting the influence of Xin’an artists and examining paintings of Huangshan; Chapters Three and Four examine Huang Binhong’s working life and milieu in Shanghai, his art historical writings and his work to authenticate paintings in the collection of the Palace Museum, and considers the influence of his work as editor and scholar on his artistic practice. Chapter Five follows Huang’s travels to Guangxi, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Sichuan, exploring the effect of contact with different landscapes on the evolution of his artistic style. Chapters Six and Seven locate him in Beiping during the Japanese occupation, a period of artistic reflection and experimentation in which the artist’s interest in “darkness” intensified. Chapter Eight examines Huang Binhong’s move to Hangzhou in 1948 and the impact of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on his life and his late artistic style. Chapter Nine is a detailed examination of paintings from 1952 to 1955. In Chapter Ten I briefly discuss the legacy of Huang Binhong and reflect on a visit to his ancestral home in Shexian, Anhui in 2004.