Time: November 05, 2019-February 29, 2020
Venue: Shanghai Museum, 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu District, Shanghai
Cost: Free
Type: Exhibition
Information provider: Shanghai Art Exhibition
Activity notice
Shanghai Art Exhibition (: focus on Shanghai exhibition, focus on Shanghai drama, gathering 250,000 art lovers.
Editor: Art_inSH2019, irregular benefits and fun activities.
activity details
A great art academy with a profound influence on China
A magnificent art history that looks back at the classics and moves towards the modern
A group of famous masters and their artistic masterpieces
The Shanghai Museum is about to present "The Birth of Fine Arts: From the Sun King to Napoleon-Collection Exhibition of the National Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris". This exhibition will display more than 80 art treasures from the collections of the National Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Through various forms such as oil paintings, sculptures, prints, models, books, and manuscripts, French art has been gradually improved since the period of Louis XIV to Napoleon. Review the surging journey towards the pinnacle of European art.
1. About the National Academy of Fine Arts in Paris
As one of the most influential art academies in the world, the National Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (hereinafter referred to as Paris Gaume), located on the banks of the Seine River and across the river from the Louvre, has a long history and many people come out. The predecessor of the college can be traced back to the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture founded by Louis XIV in 1648. It is here that the system of the "Academy of Fine Arts" has achieved decisive development: from apprenticeship to academy, from craftsman to artist...Led by Le Brun, the academy respects ancient Greek and Roman art and Italian Renaissance art. , Maintaining the worship of ideal beauty. The teaching method is based on sketching and human body sketching, accompanied by competitions, study tours, salons and other systems. In the following two centuries, the system and artistic philosophy surrounding this academy once became a model followed by the Western and even the world's art academies. Although the academy gradually declined, it is undeniable that this academy still has an important and far-reaching influence on world art.
Paris Gaomei also has a very rich collection, involving architecture, painting, sculpture, printmaking, line drawing and artistic anatomy since the 16th century, mainly used to serve school teachers and students. It is worth mentioning that, through the selected works of the Academy and the Rome Prize, the collection of Paris Gaume has been continuously continued. The exhibits in this exhibition are selected masterpieces, including the winning works of the Rome Grand Prix that the students of the Academy of Fine Arts dreamed of.
Paris Gaomei also had a profound influence on Chinese art. Today, many questions about Chinese art and art education may still find answers from here. Where did the art examination system come from? Is sketch training still necessary? How to understand the human body sketching class that has been searched? In the first half of the 20th century, Chinese art was at a historical node of transformation. A group of Chinese artists went to France to study, and many of them registered under Paris Gaume. These include the famous Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Pan Yuliang, Wu Guanzhong, Wu Fading, Chang Shuhong, Yan Wenliang, Wu Zuoren, Lu Sibai, etc. These artists studying in France greatly promoted the development of Chinese art and Chinese art education after returning to China.
2. From the Sun King to Napoleon
The Sun King is another name for the King Louis XIV of the French Bourbon dynasty. During his reign, France became the most powerful country in Europe at that time. The classical art of the seventeenth century mainly served to praise the king. Corresponding to the artistic style, the Baroque art or the so-called Louis XIV style, which had a strong decorative meaning at the time, was popular. In the eighteenth century, under the influence of the French domestic pursuit of happiness, Rococo art continued to be extremely refined and elegant. What’s important is that during this period, a set of art rules and academies that have been learned from Italy and adapted to France’s own system have been developed and established-the glorious history of the French academy that has had a profound impact on the world of fine arts for nearly two centuries. It unfolds from this, which is also one of the important clues throughout this exhibition.
With the development of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, artists were inspired by reason and science, and influenced by passion and turmoil, French art began to undergo profound changes. Artists represented by David opposed the exquisite and frivolous painting themes of the late Rococo, and instead promoted the innovation of the classical epic tradition, hoping to re-endow the mission of art with moral value. People once again turned their attention to Poussin, the master of classicism, to anatomy and human body sketching, as well as the cultural qualities of the artist and the ascendant archeology. In art history, neoclassicism is used to refer to the characteristics of this period, which will also be the focus of this exhibition.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Napoleon reached the highest stage of French history. Law, public will and zeitgeist began to become keywords. And David's student Angel, accompanied by doubts about the college system, followed the tradition to complete a series of strict college training. Perhaps it had quietly heralded the beginning of romanticism.
From the Sun King to Napoleon, this exhibition will try to reproduce the magnificent history of French art that was defined during this period, reached its peak, and brewed a new transformation.
3. Masters and their works
The exhibition spans from the 17th century to the beginning of the 19th century. We try to sort out and present the situation of French and European art in this period from multiple angles. The exhibition will be divided into the following nine thematic units:
Renaissance Movement: The Origin of French Art
The birth of modern artists
Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture of the Sun King
The artistic prosperity of the aristocracy
Human Aesthetics: Confrontation between Art and Science
The Innovation of Heroism Painting in the Enlightenment Period
Art and Revolution: From David to Ingres
Archeology and the Poetic Aesthetics of Ruins
From Royal Academy to Academic School
Finally, it is worth mentioning that it is the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, and most of the exhibits in this exhibition are also the first to come to China. The works of many artists who occupy an important position in the world's art history will also appear on Shanghai Expo, including Poussin, Fragonard, David, Ingres, Udon, and Lude. It is through these masters and works that we can connect this magnificent history of French art.