A Study On Zhao Yannian’s Print

Zhao Yannian, one of the masters of modern Chinese printmaking craft, represents a banner in Chinese black-white woodcarving industry. Zhao’s work of engraving mainly finds expression in the insert drawing of Lu Xun’s works, reputed as an artist with most splendid achievement for studying Lu’s works most intensively and most diligently put Lu’s teaching and research in wood carving into practice.Zhao’s print illustrations pursues a strong black and white contrast and bold but sharp skill of carving, among them the rough and strong engravings as his unique artistic language. Through the skilled use of these technique, his works exercises a combination of inflexibility and yielding, enriching more plentiful meanings and styles. To keep the insert drawing in the same style with the original works, Zhao carries out a deep study of Lu Xun’s works, through which his drawings can convey exquisitely and deeply the content and meaning of literature works, forming unique character of Zhao’s drawings. In this article the author makes every effort in the study of Zhao, an excellent master in Chinese modern art history, and his works of drawings, meanwhile analyzes his personal academic background, education experience in art, personal achievement at a new perspective. This article confirms Zhao’s achievement in Chinese modern art history and the positive influence to printmaking, illustrations art and also teaching of printmaking, at the same time discusses lessons for our present art of drawing.In this article the author mainly adopts document analysis and graphical analysis as research approach, accompanied by individual interviews, to study Zhao and his art of print illustrations. The article studies Zhao Yannian and his art of print illustrations in three aspects including art experience, create of Print illustrations, and achievement and influence, among them art experience is divided generally by the author into art accumulation and exploration period, developing and mature period, low tides period, rising and climax period, and transforming period, meanwhile the author makes an analysis for the representative works of every period. The second part "create of print illustrations" is the focal point of this article, mainly analyzing the reasons for the forming of Zhao’s art features of print illustrations, formal language of print illustrations works, and also the Realistic performance of the subject matter. The third part "achievement and influence" concludes Zhao Yannian’s achievement and influence in printmaking, his print illustrations works and also teaching of printmaking, based on which the article reviews Zhao’s contribution to Chinese printmaking in20th century, fatherly confirming Zhao’s position in Chinese printmaking history of20century and forming an objective and impartial appraise on Zhao Yannian.