Du Dakai recalls a journey to Guangdong province in the winter of 1978. The professor of Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design accompanied Zhu Danian (1916-95), an eminent painter and ceramic artist, to the scenic county of Xiqiao to do outdoor sketching.
1978年的某个冬日，美丽的西樵镇上出现两位从北京远道而来的画家。他们是工笔重彩大师、陶瓷艺术家祝大年先生和陪同他前来写生的杜大恺先生。
《李村大枣树》
Du says the mental picture of Zhu putting a thick overcoat around his shoulders, sitting on a small stool and indulging himself in drawing for almost a day has reemerged from time to time over the years.
多年以后，已是清华美院教授的杜老回忆，“祝先生披着棉军大衣，坐在小马扎上一坐一天的写生情景，始终萦绕在我的眼前。”
《李村秋实》
Zhu was one of the founding members of the Central Academy of Arts and Design, now Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design. He left an oeuvre presenting fine brushwork, realistic details and a vibrant palette.
祝大年先生是清华美院前身——中央工艺美院的创院元老。同时，作为现代工笔重彩和陶瓷艺术开拓者，他留下了一批精致、严谨、工整而高雅的画作。
《夔门》
To mark the 105th anniversary of Zhu's birth, Tsinghua University Art Museum has opened an exhibition showing dozens of his pen drawings and ink-color paintings, some of which came from a recent donation to the museum by the Zhu family.
“写生·创作：祝大年艺术作品展”正是为了纪念大年先生诞辰105周年而举办。大年先生生前创作的钢笔写生和工笔画汇聚清华大学艺术博物馆，部分展品来自家属近期的捐赠。
祝大年 (1916-95)
The exhibition pairs pen drawings which Zhu sketched outdoors with Chinese ink-color paintings which he completed based on the drawings.
这次展览的用心之处在于，将一幅钢笔写生和一幅基于写生稿完成的工笔画作并列展出。
The paintings on show reflect Zhu's love of nature, especially a passion for depicting the dense tropical forests, plants and birds in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, which he visited more than once.
这些画作无不反映出大年先生对自然的爱与尊重。大年先生多次到西双版纳采风，他尤其热衷描绘那里茂密的热带雨林、丰富的树木繁花鸟类。
《根》1980年 钢笔画
《根》1980年 工笔重彩
When Zhu was commissioned to create a mural to decorate a restaurant at the newly-built terminal of Beijing Capital International Airport in the late 1970s, he designed a ceramic piece that showed a panoramic view of Xishuangbanna's tropical forests, waterfalls, rivers and a boat carrying five people of the Dai ethnic group in Yunnan. He was also inspired by a 380-year-old great banyan in Jiangmen, Guangdong, known as 'birds' paradise'.
1970年代末，大年先生接到一个任务，为首都国际机场新建候机楼的餐厅创作一件彩绘壁画。他仍然选择西双版纳作为取材对象，最终设计出的瓷砖壁画上有繁茂的雨林、瀑布、河流，小船；画面中还融入了被誉为“小鸟天堂”的、位于江门的一棵近400年树龄的水榕树。
《森林之歌》钢笔稿局部
1979年秋，祝大年（左）与助手刘博生（右）研究壁画效果
The monumental mural, titled Song of the Forest, measures 20 meters in length and 3.4 meters in height, and comprises more than 3,000 ceramic tiles, made with the aid of artisans and technicians in Jingdezhen.
这件里程碑式的壁画被命名为《森林之歌》，它长20米、高3.4米，由三千多块瓷砖拼接而成，并且这些彩绘瓷砖均是在景德镇老艺人和技术人员的协助下烧制而成的。
《森林之歌》局部
Zhu later said that he hoped when people enter the restaurant and are welcomed by a view of tropical forests and all life thriving, they will feel engulfed by the warmth of sun and the pleasant smell of spring.
祝先生后来在谈到《森林之歌》的构思时说，他希望当人们走进餐厅就能看到热带雨林万物滋长、欣欣向荣的景象，感觉被温暖阳光和春日气息包围的美好。
《森林之歌》局部
Among works donated by the Zhu family to Tsinghua University Art Museum, there are drafts, manuscripts and other materials pertaining to the creation of Song of the Forest. The museum has named one of its exhibition halls after Zhu Danian and will dedicate it to showing his works in the future.
这次祝先生的家属也慷慨捐赠出了《森林之歌》的全套的创作手稿、工作稿。而为了纪念大年先生的艺术成就，清华艺博特将8号展厅冠名为“祝大年厅”，供日后展出先生的作品。
《崂山小景》钢笔画
《崂山小景》工笔重彩
《青岛海岸》钢笔画
《青岛海岸》工笔重彩
Photos courtesy of Tsinghua University Art Museum
图片致谢清华大学艺术博物馆
Have a nice weekend!
记者：林琦
