Year | 1960
Dimensions | 91 x 65 cm
Medium | Oil on canvas
Shiy De Jinn was born in Sichuan, China in 1923. He was one of the most celebrated Taiwanese artist. Shiy was part of the modernisation movement for Chinese painting. During his time in Hangzhou Nation College of Art, he studied under famous Chinese painter Lin Feng Mian (林風眠, considered a pioneer of modern Chinese painting for blending Chinese and Western styles) and was in the artistic circles with fellow artists such as Zao Wou Ki (趙無極), Ju De Chiun (朱德群), and Lee Chun Shan (李仲生). In 1948, Shiy graduated from the Hangzhou National College of Art and moved to Taiwan. In the 1970s, Shiy started painting Taiwanese landscapes, applying traditional Chinese ink-brush painting techniques to the depiction of these landscapes. He advocated a direct contact with nature, and the need to paint from life. “What I paint is the landscapes that I see before me.” as he once commented. Both Shiy’s Taiwanese landscapes and his paintings of human scenes reflect a strong attachment to Taiwan. He died of pancreas cancer in 1981 at the age of 58.