In the early twenty-first century, China occupies a place on center stage in the international art world. But what does it mean to be a Chinese artist in the modern age? This first comprehensive study of modern Chinese art history traces its evolution chronologically and thematically from the Age of Imperialism to the present day. Julia Andrews and Kuiyi Shen pay particular attention to the dynamic tension between modernity and tradition, as well as the interplay of global cosmopolitanism and cultural nationalism. This lively, accessible, and beautifully illustrated text will serve and enlighten scholars, students, collectors, and anyone with an interest in Asian art and artists.
Julia Andrewsis Professor of Art History at Ohio State University and is the author of several books, includingPainters and Polictics in the Peoples’ Republic of China, 1949–1979.
Kuiyi Shenis Professor in the Visual Arts Department and Director of the Chinese Studies Program at UC San Diego.
The Art of Modern Chinais a long-awaited, much-needed survey. The authors combined experience in this field is exceptional. In addition to presenting key arguments for students and arts professionals, Andrews and Shen enliven modern Chinese art for all readers.The Art of Modern Chinagives just treatment to an expanded field of overlooked artworks that confront the challenges of modernization.De-nin Deanna Lee, author ofThe Night Banquet: A Chinese Scroll through Time.
Acknowledgments
Map
Introduction
1 Chinese Art in the Age of Imperialism: The Opium War to the Treaty of Shimonoseki, 18421895
2 Art in the Creation of a New Nation: The Overthrow of the Qing and the Early Republic, 18951920
3 Art in the New Culture of the 1920s
4 Modern Art in the 1930s
5 The Golden Age of Guohua in the 1930s
6 Art in Wartime, 19371949
7 Western-Style Art under Mao,l¢