Five Character Couplet in Running Script《行书五言联》

Xu Beihong (1895–1953)
Xu Beihong, originally named Shoukang, was a renowned painter and art educator from Yixing, Jiangsu. From a young age, he studied painting with his father. In 1919, he went to France to study and traveled throughout Western Europe, systematically learning Western painting techniques and dedicating himself to the reform of Chinese painting. He served as a professor at the Central University Art Department and, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, became the president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Xu excelled in sketching, oil painting, and Chinese painting, integrating Western artistic methods into Chinese painting, creating a novel and unique style.

Xu Beihong studied under Kang Youwei, and his calligraphy was greatly influenced by Kang. However, he did not merely imitate Kang’s appearance but rather embraced Kang’s calligraphic philosophy, adhering to the stele school. Through extensive study, he developed his distinctive style. His calligraphy was both robust and graceful, possessing the monumental quality of the stele school while maintaining the elegance of the copybook school. This couplet is one of his large-character works, with strong and vigorous brushstrokes, penetrating the paper deeply, and the heavy ink exuding a sense of solid and unadorned beauty.

Translation of couplet: “Marvelous paintings astonish the wind and rain, True art moves gods and spirits to tears.”

徐悲鸿（1895—1953），原名寿康，享誉中外的书画家、美术教育家，江苏宜兴人。幼时即随父学画，1919年赴法国留学，并游历西欧诸国，系统学习西画，致力于中国画的改良。曾任中央大学艺术系教授，新中国成立后任中央美术学院院长。他擅长素描、油画、中国画，把西方艺术手法融入中国画中，创造了新颖而独特的风格。

徐悲鸿曾师从康有为，书法受康氏影响颇大。但他未学康之面貌而师其书学思想，宗法碑学，在广泛取法中形成了自己独特的风格。书作既厚重苍劲又摇曳生姿，有着碑学的金石气又不失帖学的秀雅气。该联为其大字作品，用笔苍劲挺拔，力透纸背，入木三分，凝重的笔墨给人以苍厚朴拙之美。

释文：奇画惊风雨，真艺泣鬼神。