8 Responses to “Death of a Master: Prof. Charles Chu (1918-2008)”

1. Amy
   November 1st, 2008 @

   I got the email from Conn about him, too. It made me wish I’d taken a class with him as well. I bet Luke knew him – he majored in Chinese, I think.

2. Frank Giacobbi
   November 1st, 2008 @

   Upon the first stroke of “The Fish,” Charles uttered a single word, collected himself for a very long time, then finished the painting in seconds.

   http://www.littlefrog.com/search?work_id=1096

   He was one of the very finest people I was ever privileged to meet.

   FG

3. Joel Friedlander
   November 2nd, 2008 @

   I have taken the bottom painting and placed it as my desktop. It replaces a very calming picture of a town in Provence, France. I think that the painting is magnificent.

   The forest is painted with stark realism while the boats and the houses in the distance are only imagined in their simplicity. This I suppose represents the significance of nature vs the temporal nature of human creations. His style, at least to me may be modern, but it has strong elements of the Muromachi style of Japanese paintings of the 14th Century. For those of you who question this, please check it out on line. You will be surprised how this artist represents a continuity of Japanese traditions in painting of over 600 or so years.

   This is to say that the man’s work is amazing in its complexity. I’m sorry that Josh didn’t get a chance to take a class with him. I’m sorry that I didn’t take a class with him either.

   All that being said, and not just because I have japanese paintings in my house, there is a tremendous amount to be learned from studying Japanese art through the centuries. There is more to Japan then Samurai Warriors and Sushi.

   How fortunate for Connecticut College to have this man to teach there.

4. Joel
   November 2nd, 2008 @

   Let me add this, I know that you will think that I am crazy for mentioning Japanese traditions as effecting this man’s work, but just take a look at the periods that I mention and you will see what I mean. The Japanese and Chinese artistic traditions are blended, as are their religious traditions, and rituals. Just look at what this guy paints and look at Japanese art and tell me that I am wrong. This work looks like the art of Japanese history. It is a form of impressionism that was perhaps common to both of the art forms. I don’t care if the guys name was Chu, his work looks like Japanese art of the Muromachi period of Japanese Art.

   Muromachi period
   Pine Trees by Hasegawa Tohaku
   Pine Trees by Hasegawa Tohaku
   Landscape by Sesshu Toyo
   Landscape by Sesshu Toyo

   “During the 14th century, the development of the great Zen monasteries in Kamakura and Kyoto had a major impact on the visual arts. Suibokuga, an austere monochrome style of ink painting introduced from Sung and Yuan dynasty China largely replaced the polychrome scroll paintings of the previous period, although some polychrome portraiture remained – primary in the form of chinso paintings of Zen monks.Typical of such painting is the depiction by the priest-painter Kao of the legendary monk Kensu (Hsien-tzu in Chinese) at the moment he achieved enlightenment. This type of painting was executed with quick brush strokes and a minimum of detail.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_painting

   This professor worked in a medium which originally came from China and went over to Japan, but the forms are more prevalent in the Japanese idiom.

   This is a site where you can look at the Chinese tradition displayed.
   http://www.the-gallery-of-china.com/chinese-landscape-painting.html
   Here there are landscapes with the representation of human structures that are entirely realistic and not impressionistic. I believe that the simplistic view of the boats and the houses in professor Chu’s work has the same elements of the Japanese style of that period, which as indicated above, was derived from the Japanese. His work is a blend, at least in my view of elements of Impressionist, and Buddhist philosophy, which was the basis of both Chinese and Japanese painting.

   What is interesting is that when I looked at the painting I went instinctively to a Japanese Art site and not a Chinese one. I think that this fellow’s paintings are highly Buddhist influenced, which would make sense because he was 90 year old when he left us and would have lived long before the time when the Atheistic Communists came into power and full control in China.

   All that having been said, It didn’t really register that the guy was Chinese. I copied the painting and went on the web to look at where in the Japanese Art archives I could find work like his. At any rate the guys work is massive.

5. Ting C.
   November 13th, 2008 @

   Hello there –

   I wanted to thank you for putting up such a nice tribute to my grandfather, Charles Chu, on your website! His death is an unbelievable loss to our family, but ours is a grateful grief that we got to spend such good years with him.

   I’m interested in the views posted above about my grandfather’s work as influenced by Japanese painting. He would probably be a little bit taken aback by such an assertion, but you probably do know more about art than I (because I really know nothing about it except for my grandfather’s work, which I can recognize in an instant just from growing up around it). Anyway, I thought you might be interested to know that he used to call himself a Quaker in his religion, a Confucian in his philosophy, and a Taoist in his painting. He was almost entirely self-taught, and painted as the spirit moved him. We have piles and piles of sketchbooks of his to go through, and taking a walk with him was always quite a project, because every few paces he would stop and examine a flower or a tree that he found interesting, often taking a moment to sketch what he saw.

   I’m so glad that his life and his art are being talked about. He greatly admired the work of the Chinese artist Qi Baishi (Ch’i Pai-shih), if that offers any more insight into his work.

   Thanks again!

   -ting

6. Josh Friedlander
   November 14th, 2008 @

   Ting: our pleasure. I know little about art, but do think there are some similarities in Japanese and Chinese paintings, however I would not doubt that a true expert would be able to point out major differences. My own impression is that there is a major difference in the amount of detail and use of brushstrokes and, of course, the subject matter of ancient paintings in either culture as per the varying landscapes of the two societies.

7. Peter Eller
   September 24th, 2009 @

   Some time back I came into possession of a painting or lithograph labeled on back as follows: “Gift to Chuck Shepard from Charles Chu (the artist) on the occasion of Chuck’s retirement from the presidency of Yale–China.”

   If anyone, perhaps from the family, can tell me more about the occasion, remembers it and the gift, I would be grateful for any further information.

   Thank You.

   Peter Eller
   Peter Eller Fine Art

8. Josh Friedlander
   September 28th, 2009 @

   Peter: I’ve passed your question on to the family.

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