The Journey of Ink - Modern and Contemporary Chinese Paintings from the Musee Cernuschi, the first special exhibition curated by the famed French museum in China, opened to the public on Sept 5 at the Bund One Art Museum in Shanghai.

The exhibition showcases the masterpieces of Chinese art giants including Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, and Zhang Daqian collected in the Musee Cernuschi – a prominent art museum in France known for its extensive collection of modern and contemporary Chinese paintings.

The exhibition marks the first time that Chinese artworks collected in an overseas museum have returned to the Chinese mainland for a large-scale display.

Co-curated by the Bund One Art Museum and the Musee Cernuschi, the event is a part of cultural exchanges in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France.

The exhibition features 89 works by 36 renowned artists, covering genres such as calligraphy, landscape painting, and ink painting. As such, it presents a comprehensive narrative of modern Chinese painting development in the 20th century.

Notably, the exhibition showcases a calligraphy work by Kang Youwei, a renowned scholar and political reformer of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is the first modern Chinese artwork collected by the Musee Cernuschi.

The exhibition also delves into the evolution of flower-and-bird paintings in modern China and the innovative reinterpretations of traditional Chinese painting aesthetics.

There is ample time to take in its splendor more than once: the exhibition will be open to the public until Jan 5, 2025.

Source: Shanghai Observer