A Visitor from Xiling

　The foundations of Fu Chuan-fu's painting and calligraphy were laid in Hangzhou. At the age of 17 he joined the Xiling Painting and Calligraphy Society there. A student of its president, Wang Renzhi, Fu chose to specialize in landscape painting, at the same time studying a wide range of styles by contemporary artists and ancient masters via painting albums. He also learned how to depict plum blossoms and do finger painting on his own. In 1935, he went to Nanjing to take up a post there and became enamored with the style of the Qing dynasty artist Shitao. After the Second Sino-Japanese War erupted, Fu followed Chinese armies through Hubei, Hunan, and Guizhou before making it to Sichuan. The journey took him through some of the most famous and spectacular mountain scenery in China, leading him to realize that "learning from a teacher cannot compare to learning from Nature." While in Sichuan, he also met the famous bird-and-flower painter Chen Chih-fo (1896-1962), from whom he received much inspiration. After the War, Fu then traveled to Shanghai and in 1949 arrived in Taiwan, never to return to the mainland again.

　Fu Chuan-fu's works from the time before and after he came to Taiwan reflect the course of changes in his painting style. His early works are beautifully sharp, the forms in the scenery revealing the idea of Shitao's (1642-1707) style; Fu even transcribed treatises related to painting by the "Two Shi's" (Shixi and Shitao). While in Wuhan, Fu also exhibited many finger paintings, a glimpse of which is seen in "Longing View of Returning Geese" on display here. After arriving in Taiwan, he experimented with one-point perspective as well, at the same time doing works that recall the mountains of mainland China. His use of washes likewise increased, making his paintings appear as if dream-like realms, suggesting the direction that his style would thereupon take.