BIOGRAPHY
Lyu Shaohua (born in 1946 in Xiaguan, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) is a renowned contemporary Chinese painter. A disciple of the celebrated master Fu Baoshi, he pursued his early studies at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now the China Academy of Art). In 1979, he went to Paris, where he both taught and furthered his training in oil painting. During his years in France, he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Paris, and subsequently held solo exhibitions across 36 countries and regions worldwide.
Lyu’s oeuvre is distinguished by its synthesis of Chinese and Western artistic traditions, culminating in the establishment of his own school of painting known as the “Lyu School.” His representative work, Close-up of the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River, is housed in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Over the course of his career, Lyu Shaohua has received numerous national and international accolades, including the lifetime honorific title of “Master of a Century of the Republic.”
Timeline
1946
Born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
1952
Began training in traditional painting under Tang Yunmo, a successor of the Wu School lineage
1962
Entered the Department of Traditional Chinese Painting at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now the China Academy of Art)
1970
Graduated and joined the faculty of the Academy
1977–1983
Invited to Paris to teach at the École des Beaux-Arts; pursued doctoral studies in oil painting and received the doctorate in 1983
1985
Awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Paris
1990s
Established a distinctive artistic language synthesizing Chinese ink traditions and Western oil painting, later recognized as the “Lyu School”
2002
Awarded the International Contribution Award at the World Painting and Calligraphy Competition, Seoul, Korea
2009
Publication, Two Major Volumes of Large-Scale Landscape Paintings
Representative Work
Close-up of the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River, collected by the Great Hall of the People, Beijing
2013
Special Exhibition, “Lyu Shaohua: East–West Synthesis” at the Louvre, Paris
2019
Works included in academic teaching materials by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing
2021
Conferred the honorary title People’s Meritorious Artist by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circle
Domestic
National Museum of China, Beijing, China
Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China
Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China
China Zitan Museum, Beijing, China
Sino-Czech Friendship Museum, Huanghua, Hebei, China
International
Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
Royal College of Art, London, the United Kingdom