In Li Mei-shu's (
Even more ironic is Li Shih-chiao's (
All these pieces are good testimony to the hardship laced throughout Taiwan's tumultuous history. They are among the 37 oil paintings featured in the Taiwan section of the exhibition, which also displays oil paintings of the first half of the 20th century from Korea, Japan and China.
"The common characteristic of the pioneering artists is their tenacious vitality and unyielding idealism," said Lin Man-lee (
Indeed, these paintings vividly convey the island's past to contemporary audiences. Taiwan's early immigrants, who came mostly from China's Fukien Province, had to deal with the difficulties of living in an undeveloped, virgin land and of colonization. In the first generation of oil paintings, as well as other art forms like Taiwanese operas, there seems to linger a sad tone as justice is not served, and surrendering to a powerful regime is inevitable.
Since 1895, when Japan took over Taiwan, the art scene has been enriched by Japanese and western disciplines. Until Japan ceded Taiwan to China in 1945, the Japanese were a leading force in the development of fine art on the island.
In the 1920s, several Japanese artists-cum-teachers fostered the first batch of local painters. Ishikawa Kinichiro (
For the next decade, the art circle was full of students returning from schools in Japan. Some featured in the exhibition are Liao Chi-chuen (
Two of the 21 oil painters featured in the exhibition, Liao Chi-cheun and Li Shih-chiao, became mainstays for promoting art. Liao taught at university and Li had a private studio. Both attracted numerous followers who studied painting with them. As can be seen from the pieces Court with Banana Trees, and Scene with Coconut Trees, both on view at the exhibition, Liao Chi-chuen's style is more romantic. He was daring, able to break through and embrace new concepts on modern art. His teaching was based on instinct and imagination, cutting off redundant academic interpretation. On the other hand, Lee has more of an intellectual approach to art. He was theoretical, systematic and his paintings, such as Happy Farmers, convey a concrete sense of reality.
As viewed from the exhibition items in the show, Taiwan's oil painters in the first half of the 20th century drew most of their material from rural society, with colonial culture also acting as a catalyst.
This large-scale exhibition on oil paintings collects 160 items that are representative of the four countries featured in the show. Guides are available at the museum that will give more in-depth background into the development of oil paintings in East Asia, and contrast and compare the contents and forms.
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