![[Special Exhibition] Modern Chinese Painting and Japan](common/img/img_header.jpg)
Images from the Exhibit
This winter, the Kyoto National Museum presents masterworks of modern Chinese paintings by artists, such as Wu Changshuo (1844-1927), Qi Baishi (1864-1957), Gao Jianfu (1879-1951), Xu Beihong (1895-1953), Liu Haisu (1896-1994), Huang Binhong (1865-1955), from Japanese and overseas collections. Focusing on the Suma Collection, which the museum acquired in recent years, the exhibition explores various developments in modern Chinese paintings.
The impact of Western material culture on China, beginning with the Opium Wars (also known as the Anglo-Chinese Wars; 1839-1842 and 1856-1860), shook the whole of Chinese society, which remained mostly unchanged, and in time led to revolution. Within this milieu, China looked to its neighboring Japan as a model for modernization. This exhibition explores the relationship between China and Japan from the perspective of modernizing the field of painting.
The impact of Western material culture on China, beginning with the Opium Wars (also known as the Anglo-Chinese Wars; 1839-1842 and 1856-1860), shook the whole of Chinese society, which remained mostly unchanged, and in time led to revolution. Within this milieu, China looked to its neighboring Japan as a model for modernization. This exhibition explores the relationship between China and Japan from the perspective of modernizing the field of painting.
Section I
An Exchange of Brushes and Ink: The Late Qing to Early Republic Shanghai and the Kansai Literati
Section I, focuses on the interaction between Chinese and Japanese artists such as Wang Yemei (n.d.), Hu Tiemei (1848-1899), and Mori Kinseki (1843-1921), and Wu Changshuo, Nagao Uzan (1864-1942), and Tomioka Kenzo (1873-1918). This section also examines the friendships between the Shanghai school painters and calligraphers of the late Qing and early Republic of China and the Japanese literati in the Kansai region and sheds light on the reciprocal influence between the Chinese and Japanese art circles within the context of Western modernization.
Section I, focuses on the interaction between Chinese and Japanese artists such as Wang Yemei (n.d.), Hu Tiemei (1848-1899), and Mori Kinseki (1843-1921), and Wu Changshuo, Nagao Uzan (1864-1942), and Tomioka Kenzo (1873-1918). This section also examines the friendships between the Shanghai school painters and calligraphers of the late Qing and early Republic of China and the Japanese literati in the Kansai region and sheds light on the reciprocal influence between the Chinese and Japanese art circles within the context of Western modernization.
Ink Plum Blossoms by Wu Changshuo (1844-1927)
Kyoto National Museum
Kyoto National Museum
Miscellaneous Paintings by Xu Gu (1824-1896)
Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Museum
Section II
Reform through Art: The Modernization of Chinese Painting and Japan
The encounter with modern Western painting led to the creation of the new concept of art, or bijutsu (Ch., meishu), in Japan. Thereafter, Japanese artists established new styles and techniques, adopting Western-style painting (J., yoga), which also spread to China through exhibitions as well as the travels of the painters. Section II offers a comparison of works by the Kyoto painters Takeuchi Seiho (1864-1942) and Yamamoto Shunkyo (1872-1933) to those by Cantonese painters such as Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng (1889-1933), and Chen Shuren (1883-1948). Also presented will be paintings by artists such as Jin Cheng (1878-1926) and Chen Shizeng (1876-1923), who were involved in the planning of collective exhibitions with Chinese and Japanese artists.
The encounter with modern Western painting led to the creation of the new concept of art, or bijutsu (Ch., meishu), in Japan. Thereafter, Japanese artists established new styles and techniques, adopting Western-style painting (J., yoga), which also spread to China through exhibitions as well as the travels of the painters. Section II offers a comparison of works by the Kyoto painters Takeuchi Seiho (1864-1942) and Yamamoto Shunkyo (1872-1933) to those by Cantonese painters such as Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng (1889-1933), and Chen Shuren (1883-1948). Also presented will be paintings by artists such as Jin Cheng (1878-1926) and Chen Shizeng (1876-1923), who were involved in the planning of collective exhibitions with Chinese and Japanese artists.
Misty River and Layered Peaks by Gao Jianfu (1879-1951)
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Fox Stealing a Chicken by Gao Jianfu (1879-1951)
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Evening Sun on the Steppes Jin Cheng (1878-1926)
Section III
The Shanghai and Beijing Schools of Painting: The Art Scene in the Two Great Capitals and Their Evolution
Section III features the works of the celebrated painters Wu Chanshuo and Qi Baishi, who were key figures of guohua (“national painting”), the traditional Chinese style of ink painting, in Shanghai and Beijing around the 1930s, and examines their close ties to Japan through the modern essence of their works and their international reception.
Section III features the works of the celebrated painters Wu Chanshuo and Qi Baishi, who were key figures of guohua (“national painting”), the traditional Chinese style of ink painting, in Shanghai and Beijing around the 1930s, and examines their close ties to Japan through the modern essence of their works and their international reception.
Calligraphy and Painting on Fan by Wu Changshi (1844-1927)
Kyoto National Museum, Morioka Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Morioka Collection
Song-style Landscape by Qi Baishi (1864-1957)
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Album of Flowering Plants by Qi Baishi (1864-1957)
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Section IV
Oil Painting and Guohua in China: Expanding Expressions in Painting and Japan
Section IV looks at exchanges between Chinese and Japanese Western-style painters. Several leading Chinese artists were deeply influenced by Japan: Chen Baoyi (1893-1945) studied oil painting techniques in an art school in Japan, Liu Haisu and Wang Jiyuan (1893-1972) held solo exhibitions in Japan, and Xu Beihong visited Japan in the early years of his art studies. Moreover, many textbooks and manuals on the history and techniques of Western painting that were published in China were translated or cited from Japanese books.
Section IV looks at exchanges between Chinese and Japanese Western-style painters. Several leading Chinese artists were deeply influenced by Japan: Chen Baoyi (1893-1945) studied oil painting techniques in an art school in Japan, Liu Haisu and Wang Jiyuan (1893-1972) held solo exhibitions in Japan, and Xu Beihong visited Japan in the early years of his art studies. Moreover, many textbooks and manuals on the history and techniques of Western painting that were published in China were translated or cited from Japanese books.
Collection from Yangtianwo (Caves for Admiring Heaven) by Huang Binhong (1865-1955)
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Qianmen (Front Gate) of Beijing by Liu Haisu (1896-1994)
Liu Haisu Art Museum
Liu Haisu Art Museum
Swiss Scenery by Liu Haisu (1896-1994)
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Lakeside in Hangzhou by Wang Jiyuan (1893-1972)
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Old Pine of Huangshan (Yellow Mountains) by Xu Beihong (1895-1953)
Portrait of Jiang Biwei by Xu Beihong (1895-1953)
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Geese by Xu Beihong (1895-1953)
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
Kyoto National Museum, Suma Collection
