20th Century Chinese Oil Painting Gallery 1900-1949

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: "The 20th Century Chinese Oil Painting Collection," consisting of four volumes, the first volume collects works from 1900 to 1949. The author uses the title "The Song of Youth" as the preface to discuss the development of Chinese oil painting during this period, which also appropriately reflects the oil painting creation led by overseas students. Oil painting entered China in this era of surging youth and became an important course in Chinese art education, taking a solid step toward its popularization in China. The entire book showcases 273 representative illustrations, tracing the development of Chinese oil painting in the first half of the 20th century. These include reflections and learning of artists against the backdrop of the New Culture Movement, expressions of artists' righteous indignation and resistance during the Eight-Year War of Resistance, reflections of artists' hesitation and choices during the Three-Year War, and the passion and grandeur of artists praising the fiery life in the liberated areas.
The second volume collects works from 1950 to 1979. During this period, which the compilers consider the "Heroic Era," from the birth of the People's Republic to the end of the Cultural Revolution, several generations of oil painters experienced life's joys and sorrows, with some even paying the ultimate price for the times. In the first 17 years, the era called for heroes, and heroes emerged in response. Chinese oil painting established a milestone for the era through thematic creation, and as an imported art form, oil painting thereby secured its position in China. This is a collection aimed at popularization, with a small format of 40 cm × 40 cm, but the topic and concept are quite novel and highly informative. The compilers have poured as much effort into this as they would have into editing common large-format art books, and every aspect shows meticulous attention. The only drawback is that the division of historical periods still warrants reconsideration. For example, the first volume includes works from 1949, while the second volume begins in 1950, which is clearly inappropriate. Only one work by Zhao Yu, "Red Flag," was created in 1949. If it were placed in the second volume, the second volume could be adjusted to cover 1949 to 1979, which would not only be more appropriate but also align with basic historical principles.
Additionally, the book lacks an "Introduction" to explain the selection criteria and arrangement rules. For instance, the current ordering is based on the birth years of the authors, but general readers are unaware of this rule. Perhaps pointing out such issues is a bit demanding for a popular art collection. However, this does not negate the fact that it is a very good set of books.