Appreciation of Famous Paintings in China (Vol. 1 & 2)

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Publishing House: China National Photography and Fine Arts Press
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Features: The works in this album are selected from major museums in China and the world, as well as private collectors. This album adopts a text-and-image integrated approach, with explanations of the artworks, showcasing 456 works by hundreds of artists from the Neolithic Age to the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. These masterpieces are among the finest in the world, encompassing styles from the pre-Qin and Han periods, the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The forms include cliff, silk paintings, relief sculptures, scroll paintings, and fan paintings, while the genres cover figure paintings, landscape paintings, flower-and-bird paintings, and miscellaneous paintings, representing nearly all schools, styles, and formats of renowned Chinese masterpieces. These existing works in museums and private collections are rich in content, diverse in style, and highly skilled in technique, fully reflecting the achievements of painting throughout China's historical periods and social conditions. The book is arranged by experts in a scientific and structured manner, systematically guiding readers through each historical period, style, and major artists. In addition to the overall introduction, each work's title, creation date, category and dimensions, collection location, artist's biography, background, theme, artistic conception, technical points, artistic achievements, and anecdotes in the art world are meticulously examined and vividly appraised. These expert-crafted commentaries are clear and engaging, catering to both scholars and the general public, and are filled with insightful and entertaining insights. The exquisite paintings, coupled with the witty and engaging commentaries, allow the album to explain the artworks through text and convey meaning through art, making it of extremely high academic, historical, artistic, cultural, appreciation, and collection value.