Jinshan Peasant Painting Village

Since our time here is coming to an end, I'm really trying to work on my 'To Do' list. One of those things was to visit and buy a peasant painting from a place called the Peasant Painting Village. It was a beautiful day out and the kids and I were free for the day so we decided to drive over an hour to go and check it out.

 

Here's a little history of the Peasant Village:

 

In 1972, as China was still in the throes of the Cultural Revolution, classical painter Wu Tongzhang (吴彤章) was sent to the rural area of Jinshan, south of Shanghai, as part of the “back to the countryside” (上山下乡运动) movement. He was dispatched there to learn from the peasant farmers -- the anti-bourgeois heroes of Chairman Mao's revolution.
What the authorities probably did not anticipate was what Shanghai city-boy Wu would teach the locals.
With a long history of local handicrafts -- including paper cutting, embroidery and wood carving -- Wu realized that Jinshan's peasants had some artistic aptitude and he made it his mission to teach them to paint.
There are now about 300 full-time peasant painters in Jinshan, mainly in the dedicated farmer painter village in Fengjing water town (金山农民画村).
Unlike their predecessors, who Wu taught, the new generation of folk painters have never farmed in life -- they live by their paint brushes.
Zhu Xi (朱希) is 55 years old and began painting in 1976. This makes him one of the original Jinshan “peasant Picassos.”

Jinshan peasant painting first came to prominence internationally in the late 1970s and in the past few decades, works from Zhu and his fellow Jinshan artists have been exhibited in Japan, the United States, Europe and South America.
The style is renowned for its use of strong colors -- reds, greens, yellows and blues abound -- which are used liberally to depict people, animals and places which at first glance seem crudely drawn, as though by the hand of a child.
Though the “peasant Picassos” paint the reality of their day-to-day lives in the countryside, the way in which they paint gives the scenes an unreal, or hyper-real quality.

 

 

The best part of the day for the kids!! :) They had the entire playground to themselves!!

 

 

 Not sure what this instrument was, but it sounded good

 and looked cool

 

This is the lady who we bought our paintings from. We bought 6 small and 3 medium one's. Rilynn was very helpful communicating for me!

A piece in progress

The outside of her house/studio

Info about our painter

 

Our Purchases

 The kids' Chinese Zodiac Signs- Rilynn the Rooster and Brady the Rat :)

 Beijing- The Great Wall

 Shanghai- Pudong skyline

 The four seasons- Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

 Brady had to have this 'Pirate Ship' as he says it reminds him of the one outside our apartment on the river :)

Rilynn wanted this winter one since her birthday is in the winter :)

 

Where's Brady?   :)

Rilynn REALLY enjoyed watching them paint!