Shaping the French connection

A sculpture exhibition featuring works by members of the Academie des Beaux-Arts is celebrating a century of art exchanges between China and France, Lin Qi reports.

The integration of Chinese and Western techniques and styles marked an important development in the history of Chinese fine arts during the 20th century, in which the interchanges between Chinese and French artists played a special role.

Hundreds of young Chinese people went to France, either self-sponsored, on government scholarships or on work-study programs over the first half of the 20th century. They enrolled at French art schools and academies to receive formal training in painting, printing and sculpture. And when they returned home, they introduced not only the European style of realism into Chinese art, but also the modern system of art education they encountered, which contributed significantly to the development of modern Chinese art.