ILLUSTRATED:
Chen Cheng-po Centennial Memorial Exhibition, Chia Yi Municipal Cultural Center, Chia Yi, 1994, color illustrated, p.92

Hangzhou’s West Lake has long been a popular subject of eulogy among poets and scholars and a magnet that once attracted royalty and dignitaries to linger and relax. The numerous masterpieces of Chen Cheng-po also overflow with his affection toward West Lake.

From 1929 to 1933, Chen Cheng-po was appointed at Shanghai Xinhua and Changming School of Art—very few Taiwanese artists, also with distinguished accomplishment, was able to get to teach in art school from Mainland China during the era of Japanese rule in Taiwan. During Chen’s time residing in Shanghai, he chose to depict the landscape of the famous scenery in Jiangnan for most of his works. This particular piece, Zhongshan Park at West Lake, was showcased at the “Chen Cheng-po Centennial Memorial Exhibition”, and is inscribed with “Shanghai West Gate Linyin Road Yiyuan” on the reverse. “Yiyuan” (Yiyuan Painting Research Institute) was a comprehensive painting research association founded in 1928 by Wang Ji Yuan, who recommended Chen to work in Shanghai. Other important members included well-known artists, Zhu Qizhan, Pan Yu-liang, Zhang Daqian, and Xu Beihong, and Chen, an advisor professor, was in close communication with them. “Yiyuan” had a positive influence and reputation in Shanghai’s western fine art world with its pure academic atmosphere and amiable intellectual exchange. Chen, whose scholarly father took part in the imperial examination during the Qing Dynasty, was especially interested in Chinese paintings since his childhood. During his years in Shanghai, he heavily absorbed himself in the traditional culture of the region and internalized these qualities in his works.

This particular piece, “Zhongshan Park at West Lake”, manifests a depth by the curved line formed by the foreground grove and hedge which invites people to delve in and explore the painting. Branches spread out on the left seem to respond to the thick foliage on the right as plants reaching up to the sky and flying eaves extend the view. The dynamic movement of the artist’s strokes reveals a vibrant vitality, with curved strokes and warm colors reminiscent of Van Gogh. Kinichiro Ishikawa, who knew Chen and his work very well, once described his strokes as being “pure and distinctive in style without any hint of excess”.