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Pu Tiansheng
1912.06.19~1996.05.31
Birthplace / Mei Street, Chiayi, Taiwan

Born into a family of traditional painters, Pu Tiansheng’s father Pu Ying ran the Wenjin picture framing shop on Chiayi’s Mei Street (renamed Chengren St. after the war). Pu Tiansheng’s talents in painting were directly influenced by his childhood environment. At the age of fourteen, his glue color painting Gamecock won first place at the Hsinchu Art Exhibition.

In 1929, he joined the Chun-Meng Painting Society established by his neighbor Lin Yushan and Pan Chunyuan, a painter from Tainan. Members of the Chun-Meng Painting Society group were devoted to the study of Oriental painting, and included artists such as Zhu Futing and Xu Qinglian.

In 1931, Pu Tiansheng went to study abroad in Japan where he entered the Kawabata Painting School. He was admitted to the Japanese painting division of Imperial Art School (today’s Musashino Art University) in the following year, and later transfered to the Sculpting division. In 1934, he left school and entered the Asakura Sculpting Studio to continue his art studies. This private school was founded by the noted sculptor Asakura Fumio. Asakura also instructed Huang Tushui when Huang was studying in the graduate school at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Pu Tiansheng spent eight years at the Asakura Sculpture Studio and, in 1940, his work People of the Sea was selected for the 2600th Kōki Anniversary Art Exhibition (this was the Ministry of Education Art Exhibition, but the name of the event changed for this particular year in commemoration of the anniversary of the founding of Japan’s Imperial line).

In 1941, he returned to Taiwan and assisted in establishing the sculpting division of the Tai-Yang Art Exhibition. He also submitted his work Wife for the exhibition. In 1945, Pu and his family moved from Chiayi to Taipei and established Taiwan’s first bronze casting factory. Through his father-in-law Chen Cheng-po’s introduction, he began to work on memorial images of government officials and created Taiwan’s first ever likeness of Sun Yat-sen, today on display in front of Taipei Zhongshan Hall Hall.

Pu Tiansheng also served as a juror for the Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition and lectured on sculpting at the Provincial Education Building’s Sculpting Seminar. He was a pioneer of modern sculpture in Taiwan. His famous works included: Poet, his rendering of Lu Xun’s contemplative pose; a female nude work entitled Light of Spring, selected for 1957 Japan Fine Art Exhibition (Nitten); and, his Movement, inspired by the female gymnastic movements.

-- http://chenchengpo.asdc.sinica.edu.tw/friend_en

poet

蒲添生: Poet 詩人(部分),34cm×20cm×17cm 青銅 1947

http://www.ntl.edu.tw/public/Attachment/452916542928.JPG

http://www.ntl.edu.tw/sp.asp?xdurl=MP15AP/Gallery_LP.asp&mp=15&ctNode=1429

Structured Data

蒲添生
ISNI
Sculptor
Pu Tiansheng (Chinese: 蒲添生, 1912.06.19~1996.05.31), was a well-known Taiwanese sculptor. He created Taiwan’s first ever likeness of Sun Yat-sen, today on display in front of Taipei Zhongshan Hall.
Born: 1912-06-19
Chiayi, Taiwan
Died: 1996-05-31
Taipei, Taiwan
Nationality: Taiwanese

Relations:

Parent: Pu Ying
Father-in-law: Chen Cheng-po
Spouse: Chen Ziwei 陳紫薇
Children: Pu Hao-ming 蒲浩明
Alumni of: Kawabata Painting School, Japan
Alumni of: Imperial Art School (Musashino Art University)
Alumni of: Asakura Sculpting Studio
Alumni of: Tokyo School of Fine Arts
Colleague of: Chen Chengpo 陳澄波
Colleague of: Lin Yushan 林玉山
Colleague of: Pan Chunyuan 潘春源
Member of: Chun-Meng Painting Society 春萌畫會
Follows: Asakura Fumio 朝倉文夫

Important Roles:

Creator of: Sun Yat-sen (sculpture) 國父孫中山(銅像)
Creator of: Poet (sculpture) 詩人 (銅像)
Founder of: Taiwan’s first bronze casting factory
Award and recognition: Gamecock (Glue Color painting) recipient of the Hsinchu Art Exhibition Prize. 鬥雞（膠彩畫作）新竹美展首獎；1925
Award and recognition: Poet (composed in 1947) selected by the Salon des Artistes Français

Sources and references

 

© Marcia Lei Zeng for Academia Sinica Center for Digital Cultures