After being imprisoned for four years during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), 77-year-old Lin Fengmian was finally allowed to emigrate and settle in Hong Kong in 1977. Born in 1900, Lin is one of the most distinguished names in Chinese art along with Xu Beihong and Liu Haisu. His influence was particularly felt in terms of Chinese art's encounter with Western artistic traditions.

And now 35 years later, Lin's grandson is retracing the artist's steps by visiting Shanghai from his home in Brazil. Gerald Markowitz, 53, plans to relocate Lin's cremated remains from Hong Kong to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province.

Important intellectual

Lin, who died in 1991 in Hong Kong, was never able to join his family in Brazil after his French wife Alice Lin and daughter Dino Markowitz moved there from China in 1956. Lin was barred from leaving China, ostensibly because he was thought to be too important an intellectual to be allowed to emigrate. 

He lived on his own in Shanghai for more than 20 years at 53 Nanchang Road in today's Huangpu district.

But before he passed away, he expressed a desire to return to Hangzhou where he helped found the National Academy of Art in 1926, later known as the China Academy of Art. Before this he had studied art in France.

"If it is possible to move my grandfather's remains to Hangzhou I will also relocate my grandmother's ashes eher as well, so that they can finally be together after such a long separation," Markowitz told the Global Times.

Markowitz is also writing a book about his grandfather. "I am doing this to fulfill my mother's long-held wish. My family lived in Shanghai during those turbulent years and it's important for me to retrace my grandfather's life in order to understand him better," he added. 

On December 8, he visited Lin's former residence. "My emotions were running high. Lots of memories came flooding back. I felt like I was back in my old family photos." Markowitz met Lin on the four occasions the artist traveled to Brazil in his later years.

And he believes Shanghai was a great source of inspiration to Lin.

"Shanghai is very elegant and dynamic and my grandfather's works are also elegant in color with light tones, and are filled with energy and movement," he added.

Markowitz recalls Lin as "communicative, full of energy and with a youthful spirit. He was true to his feelings and painted what he liked. I considered him a friend," he said. "You can see beautiful curves in his paintings. I remember he told me when I was little that a line with a ruler is a dead line."

At his home in Brazil, Markowitz still keeps a number of his grandfather's works which the family brought with them when they left China in 1956. And it is through those paintings, that the native Brazilian got his first glimpses of China, sowing the seed of his interest in this faraway Asian land.

Lonely years

"His paintings usually feature women or landscapes, and they are very poetic. My mother taught me some Chinese poetry when I was young," he recalled.

Zhu Pu, the vice president of the Shanghai Lin Fengmian Art Research Association, believes the artist reached a professional peak during his lonely years in Shanghai.

"His artistic style grew more steady and mellow over the years," Zhu told the Global Times.

In his later years, Lin seamlessly merged Chinese themes with modern, Western artistic techniques. In contrast to the tendency in traditional Chinese painting to leave a large part of the canvas bare of paint, Lin frequently covered the whole of the painting surface with color in order to evoke strong feelings.

"Lin's paintings have affected and inspired younger artists and have left a rich legacy in the city," said Zhu. "And besides his works, my personal research into his life gives me the impression that he was someone who devoted his life to pursuing art in solitude. He didn't want to be distracted by other concerns."

Zheng Zhong, Lin's biographer, also expressed his delight at Markowitz's arrival in Shanghai. "His visit will provide us with more details about Lin's life previously unknown to the public. In this way, our understanding of this pioneer in art education will be more complete."