Central Academy of Fine Arts High School Alumni Excellent Works Selection. Sketches

Author: Deng Zhonghe, Zhou Ping
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Features: Preface (Commemorating the 45th Anniversary of the Central Academy of Fine Arts High School, a Collection of Outstanding Student Works) by Gao Tianxiong, Principal of the Central Academy of Fine Arts High School
In 1953, when the country was rebuilding and advancing in the wave of systematic and technical education, Mr. Xu Beihong, who had long cherished the ideal of early cultivation of artistic talent, achieved it through the establishment of the high school under the initiative of Comrade Jiang Feng, led by Principal Ding Jingwen with a group of young teachers who had just graduated. It provided a paradise and oasis for the youth, who were eager to absorb all knowledge to contribute to the economic and cultural construction of the new China.
The curriculum of the high school drew on the existing norms of Soviet secondary art education while also incorporating experiences from various other art education approaches. The teaching methods of the high school inherited the tradition of scientifically and objectively studying nature, space, and figures since the Renaissance in Europe, while also emphasizing the cultivation of emotional expression in Chinese art and the inheritance of traditional culture. All training and observation were closely linked to the fundamental goal of preparing for creative work.
Over the past 45 years, the high school has silently nurtured talent and supplied the nation with artistic blood, quietly influencing art education at the university level and even nationwide. Looking ahead, it will continue to be open to the world and the modern era, inheriting, promoting, and glorifying the fine artistic traditions and great national spirit of the Chinese nation.
The works here are the creation of teachers, students, and the times. They are a valuable treasure that will continue to enrich and perfect itself. July 1998