Exhibition showcases master painters

One painting that will be displayed at the exhibition "Xu Beihong - A Master and His Masters," which will be held from May 9 to August 3 at the Beijing World Art Museum in the China Millennium Monument. [Photo/ worldartmuseum.cn]

The Master and His Masters is an upcoming exhibition in Beijing that reflects upon how Xu Beihong (1895-1953) evolved into a great painter by juxtaposing his works and the paintings of his mentors at the Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux-arts de Paris, or the National School of Fine Arts in Paris.

The 123 paintings on display include the most important works of Xu, including Yu Gong Yi Shan (The Foolish Old Man Who Removes the Mountains), a sizeable ink painting that took the painter three months to complete during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). Xu visualized the old Chinese phrase to express his firm belief that his people would defeat invaders with the same spirit and courage as the old man Yu Gong.

Also on display are works of Xu's four directors at the school, including Paul Albert Besnard's Woman in Black Hat and Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret's figure portrait.

The paintings come from the collections of Beijing's Xu Beihong Memorial Hall and several French institutions, such as Musee d'Orsay and Petit Palais.

As a vital part of the cultural exchanges honoring the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China, the exhibition will run from May 9 to August 3 at the Beijing World Art Museum and will also be held in Zhengzhou and Shanghai.