Situ Qiao (Chinese: 司徒乔; 1902 – 16 February 1958) was a Chinese oil painter and graphic artist. An important member of the Lingnan School of art, he was also known for his friendship with the influential writer Lu Xun. His most famous work is the 1940 painting Put Down Your Whip.[1][2]
Biography
Situ Qiao was born to a poor family in Chikan, Kaiping, Guangdong province in 1902. His name at birth was Situ Qiaoxing (司徒乔兴). His father was an amateur painter.[3]
By 1928, he had moved to Shanghai and set up a studio. He held an exhibition in March 1928, which was again noticed by Lu Xun, who wrote about his conversation with Situ Qiao. In winter 1928, Situ left for France to study painting, and exhibited at the Paris Salon the following year.[4]
In 1930, Situ Qiao left France to study in New York City.[1] He supported his studies by selling his own paintings. However, his activity was considered working, which was illegal for a holder of a student visa, and he was arrested.[3] While being held in a prison for immigrants, he painted a painting entitled Painting the Statue of Liberty from the Most Unfree Place.[3]
After being deported back to China, in 1931 he taught at Lingnan University in Guangzhou. In 1934, he went to Beijing, working as an art editor for Ta Kung Pao, and moved to Shanghai in 1936. Situ Qiao was present when Lu Xun died on 19 October 1936 in Shanghai, and drew the famous final sketches of the writer.[4]
He soon moved to Nanjing, then capital of China. When the invading Japanese army attacked Nanjing in 1937, all his personal collection of paintings were destroyed.[4]
On 16 February 1958, Situ Qiao died in his studio in Beijing.[3][6] He donated all his paintings to the state, which are now in the collections of various museums in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and his hometown, Kaiping.[6] A compilation of his paintings was published by Beijing People's Art Publishing House.[6]
^油画《放下你的鞭子》 [Oil Painting Put Down Your Whip] (in Chinese). Xinhua. 17 June 2005. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
^ abcdef司徒乔 [Situ Qiao] (in Chinese). Chinese Culture and Art Network. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2013.