Zao Wou-Ki’s travels. A Quest beyond Appearances
Art Director of the Zao Wou-Ki Foundation, Co-Curator of Centennial Retrospective Exhibition of Zao Wou-Ki
趙無極基金會(huì)藝術(shù)總監(jiān)、趙無極百年回顧特展策展人
趙無極，《無題（有蘋果的靜物）》
1935-1936年，布面油畫，46 × 61 cm
攝影：Antoine Mercier
Zao Wou-Ki, Untitled (Still Life with Apples)
1935-1936, oil on canvas, 46 × 61 cm.
Photo: Antoine Mercier
Here you can see one of the very first paintings he did, which is presented in the exhibition, theStill Life with Apples, dated from 1935-1936. And you can find the comparison on the opposite, with the Still Life by Paul Cézanne. For Zao Wou-Ki, Cézanne was one of the most important European masters and a very important inspiration. You can imagine how difficult it could be for a Chinese artist just to find images of that kind of work, and to try to make something upon it, to try to copy it, to be inspired by it, and to train like Cézanne did.
現(xiàn)在你看到的是趙無極早期畫作中的其中一幅。這幅畫名為《無題（有蘋果的靜物）》，是趙無極在1935年至1936年期間創(chuàng)作，在這次展覽中也有展示。保羅·塞尚有一幅同名畫作，兩相對(duì)比可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，塞尚對(duì)趙無極而言是一位極為重要的歐洲繪畫大師，給予了他極大的靈感。不難想象，在當(dāng)時(shí)，一位中國(guó)藝術(shù)家要接觸到這類西方繪畫大師的作品，去感悟，去模仿，去獲得啟迪，乃至用同樣的方法進(jìn)行繪畫練習(xí)，是多么困難的一件事。
His first trip results of a historical imperative: the advance of the Japanese troops forced the Hangzhou’s teachers and students to leave Hangzhou, and to flee the fighting in a long roaming of thousands of kilometers that lasted from November 1937 until the settlement in Chongqing in 1942, in southwest China. During that time, classes continued. You can see the very small painting dated 1941, which is an oil on wood. It has been created on wood because at that time Zao Wou-Ki could not find any canvas. But that also shows you that he kept on painting, even if he was not in Hangzhou but traveling to Chongqing. He once said about this painting that there is some influence by the Russian painter Marc Chagall, in the naive way of composition, the joy of the colors and freshness he wanted to put into that painting.
他的第一次游歷是被歷史的車輪推動(dòng)的：日軍侵華，杭州藝專全體師生被迫離開杭州，為逃避戰(zhàn)火千里流徙。從1937年11月開始，趙無極過著一段顛沛流離的日子，直至1942年才在中國(guó)西南的重慶落腳。但即使在這樣顛沛的時(shí)日，教學(xué)仍在繼續(xù)。創(chuàng)作于1941年的小幅作品，是一幅繪制在木板上的油畫。當(dāng)時(shí)趙無極找不到任何畫布，便只能在木板上作畫。這說明，即使在離開杭州奔赴重慶的路上，趙無極仍在堅(jiān)持創(chuàng)作。關(guān)于這幅畫，趙無極曾說他是受到了俄羅斯畫家馬克·夏加爾的影響，將一種稚嫩的構(gòu)圖方式、明快的色彩以及清新感帶入了畫中。
The oil painting Paysage Hangzhou that Zao Wou-Ki did in 1946 is a landscape of Hangzhou. You can also see in this painting the deep influence of Paul Cézanne, as Zao Wou-Ki tried to imitate somehow the touch of the impressionist painters.
這幅《杭州鄉(xiāng)村風(fēng)光》是趙無極于1946年在杭州創(chuàng)作的油畫。從中可以看出趙無極受到保羅·塞尚的影響頗深，他曾試圖模仿印象派畫家的風(fēng)格筆觸。
Zao Wou-Ki was a very impatient student and desired to break up with Chinese art of his time that he judged in a way both decadent and sterile. That is why he wanted to complete his training with European and Western art.
當(dāng)時(shí)的趙無極渴求獲取新知識(shí)，他認(rèn)為當(dāng)時(shí)的中國(guó)藝術(shù)頹廢又了無生趣，他希望接受歐洲和西方的藝術(shù)教育。
On this family photograph you can see the whole Zao family. And hanging on the wall behind them, you can find the copy that Zao Wou-Ki made upon Cowper Madona by Raphael, a painting from the Italian Renaissance now in Washington. You can see that he did not only look at impressionist or modern works but also at very old masters from the Italian Renaissance. This is also certainly a deep influence of Lin Fengmian, his mentor and his teacher, who had himself a special interest for the Italian Renaissance and for the impressionists.
在這張全家福中我們可以看到趙無極的家庭狀況。而在全家福上方的墻上，掛著的是趙無極的繪畫臨摹作品。這幅作品模仿的是意大利文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期的畫作——拉斐爾的《圣母子》，現(xiàn)藏于美國(guó)華盛頓。可以看出趙無極不僅借鑒了印象派和現(xiàn)代主義的畫作，還學(xué)習(xí)了意大利文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期的宗師之作。趙無極對(duì)文藝復(fù)興和印象派的這種濃厚興趣，與其師林風(fēng)眠的影響密不可分。
紙本水彩, 37 × 28.5 cm
攝影：Manuel Alves
Zao Wou-Ki,Untitled, 1945, watercolor on paper,
37 × 28.5 cm. Photo: Manuel Alves
With this watercolor dated 1945, which is exhibited in the show, and with this ink dated 1948, you can see some other western influences: on the first he tried to imagine something about the Fauves period, and on the second, you can see a deep influence of portraits of women by Matisse.
這幅創(chuàng)作于1945年的水彩作品，在此次展覽中也有展出。而從另外一幅創(chuàng)作于1948年的水墨畫作品中可以看出一些其他西方藝術(shù)風(fēng)格給趙無極帶來的影響：第一張畫中，他試圖想象野獸派時(shí)期的一些東西；第二張畫中，你可以看到馬蒂斯的女性肖像對(duì)他的深刻影響。
Back in Shanghai in 1946, Zao Wou-Ki followed Lin Fengmian’s advice and announced to his father that he wanted to go to Paris for two years to keep on training. He received his father’s agreement, but had to wait one more year to have the French visa and the Chinese authorization to go to France.
1946年，趙無極回到上海。他聽從了林風(fēng)眠的建議，向父親提出請(qǐng)求，要赴法國(guó)巴黎進(jìn)行為期兩年的求學(xué)深造。他征得了父親的允準(zhǔn)，但同時(shí)還需再等待一年才能拿到法國(guó)簽證和中國(guó)當(dāng)局關(guān)于赴法留學(xué)的批準(zhǔn)。
趙無極，《無題（風(fēng)景或高腳屋）》
1948年，布面油畫，81.2 × 65.2 cm
圖片版權(quán)保留
Zao Wou-Ki,Untitled (Landscape or House on Stilts)
1948, oil on canvas, 81.2 × 65.2 cm
Reserved rights
But even if he wanted to go to France to make something about European art, you can see that China was rooted very deeply inside his creation, even if he rejected the Chinese tradition. In these two 1948 paintings, you can see a very strong influence of Chinese landscapes, but also of Chinese rubbings and print bricks of the Han period. He even tried to put some black patterns all around the painting just to imitate the Han rubbings. And you can find the same kind of pagodas, houses, and trees. For him it was a way to try to modernize what he found was the best part of China.
雖然他一心向往法國(guó)和歐洲藝術(shù)，但在其作品中我們?nèi)钥筛Q探到中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)藝術(shù)給他帶來的深遠(yuǎn)影響。從他創(chuàng)作于1948年的作品中，我們不僅可以看到中國(guó)山水畫的風(fēng)姿，還可以看到中國(guó)拓片和漢代畫像磚的影子。趙無極甚至嘗試運(yùn)用黑色圖案作為邊框來呈現(xiàn)一種類似于拓片的效果，這種效果同樣也在佛塔、屋宇以及樹中體現(xiàn)。這種中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)藝術(shù)對(duì)趙無極的影響深刻而隱秘。對(duì)趙無極而言，他將自己理解的中國(guó)藝術(shù)之精華以一種現(xiàn)代的方式呈現(xiàn)了出來。
This is the first part of the speech Yann Hendgen delivered at the forum, 'The Way Is Infinite: Zao Wou-Ki's World of Art', on September 20, 2023. This article is based on the audio record and approved by himself.
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