"Forget Not The Beginning of The Career: The Chinese Painting Class in the Early Period of Beiping National School of Fine Arts" is the 10th exhibition of the Select Exhibition Series of CAFAM Collections. After thorough research of its collection, and the clarification of the collected items' relationship with modern art history, the exhibition series aims to display the important nodes of the history of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and foster discussions on art education.
The gate of the Beiping National School of Fine Arts, 1928
The auditorium of the Beiping National School of Fine Arts, 1928
The Central Academy of Fine Arts is China's first national higher education institution specializedin art. In 1922, it established China's first Chinese Painting Department. The "Forget Not The Beginning of The Career" exhibition looks at the predecessor of the academy - the early period of the Beiping National School of Fine Arts, with a focus on the Chinese Painting classes between 1918 and 1932. Previously, there are few accessible materials about this time, and the exhibition hopes to provide new visual materials for the academic world. Through exhibiting the demonstration sketches by teachers of the Chinese Painting classes, and the works by the school students and precious archives which were recently recovered, the exhibition hopes to portray the early picture of Chinese Painting teaching at the Beiping National School of Fine Arts, and the relationship between this period and modern art education.
Landscape Painting Demonstration Sketch 7, Xiao Junxian, circa. 1918, 28x33cm, ink on paper, collected by CAFAM
Landscape Painting Demonstration Sketch 9, Xiao Junxian, circa. 1918, 28x33cm, ink on paper, collected by CAFAM
The exhibition for the first time shows the over 70 precious demonstration sketches by 9 famous teachers of the Beiping National School of Fine Arts: Xiao Junxian, He Liangpu, Xiao Qianzhong, Wang Mengbai, Shao Yixuan, Zhu Baoci, Wang Gongyan, Zheng Manqing, Wang Xuetao. These sketches were made for students in the 1920s, and remained in use for years in the Chinese Painting Department. Among all the demonstration sketches, those by Xiao Junxian can be dated back to 1918, when the school was founded. They were kept in the Central Academy of Fine Arts since, and is one of the oldest evidence of the academy's history.
Flora Painting Demonstration Sketch 45, Wang Mengbai, 1922, 31x33cm, collected by CAFAM
Flora Painting Demonstration Sketch 53, Wang Mengbai, 1923, 44x32cm, collected by CAFAM
Landscape Painting Demonstration Sketch 4, Xiao Qianzhong, circa. 1918-1922, 28x31cm, ink on paper, collected by CAFAM
Landscape Painting Demonstration Sketch 5, Xiao Qianzhong, circa. 1918-1922, 28x31cm, ink on paper, collected by CAFAM
The exhibition creates an atmosphere of a "Chinese Painting class". It hopes to bring the audience back to the Chinese painting classes a hundred years ago, and evoke their reflections on the history of art education.
Landscape Painting Demonstration Sketch 5, He Liangpu, circa. 1922, 34x45.5cm, ink and color on paper, collected by CAFAM
Landscape Painting Demonstration Sketch 6, He Liangpu, circa. 1922, 34x45.5cm, ink and color on paper, collected by CAFAM
Flora Painting Demonstration Sketch 1, Wang Gongyan, 1924, 32x43cm, ink and color on paper, collected by CAFAM
Flora Painting Demonstration Sketch 3, Wang Gongyan, 1924, 32x43.5cm, ink and color on paper, collected by CAFAM
"Forget Not The Beginning of The Career". A century ago, countless heroes with lofty ideals devoted themselves in the great revival of the Chinese nation. The traces they left on the path have since supported many younger generations. The exhibition is a commemoration of the predecessors who carried out and fighted for the idea of "art education could save the country".
The exhibition is on the 4th floor of CAFA Art Museum, and will last until October 23, 2022. The museum will also arrange a series of online tours and conversations, for the public to gain a better idea of the exhibition.
2022-09-23
2022-10-04
2022-10-04
2022-10-24
2022-10-29