民族性的自觉与回应:论吴作人转向中国画创作之路径

Consciousness and Response of Nationality: Wu Zuoren’s Path to Chinese Painting Creation

1945年,油画家吴作人创作了他的第一幅中国画《藏茶传》。本文以此作为切入点对史料进行回溯,认为其于1943年-1945年的西行写生是促发这一转变的关键。一个坚定的油画创作者何以发生创作媒介的转向是本文关注的首要问题。通过爬梳文献,本文对吴作人转变的背后动因作出阐释,认为这既是艺术家本人对"民族性"在艺术上的自觉诉求,也回应了抗战时期文艺界关于民族形式的大讨论。而吴作人于西行写生期间在油画、水彩中对敦煌图像、技法的借用则可视为他从西画转向中国画创作的"中间环节"。

In 1945, oil painter Wu Zuoren created his first Chinese painting Biography of Tibetan Tea. Taking this as a starting point to retrace the historical material, this paper argues that his westward sketching trip from 1943 to 1945 was the key to his turn from oil painting to Chinese painting. The primary concern of this paper is how a determined oil painter could make a shift in art medium. By combing through the literature, this paper explains the motivation behind Wu Zuoren’s transition, arguing that it was both the artist’s own conscious artistic demand for "nationality" and a response to the great debate on national forms in the literary and art circles during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Wu Zuoren’s borrowing of Dunhuang’s images and techniques in oil painting and watercolor painting during his westward sketching trip can be seen as an "intermediate step" in his transition from Western painting to Chinese painting.