Standing at 38 meters tall, Qinian Dian, or the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the central building at the Temple of Heaven complex in Beijing, commands imperial solemnity. The hall was once used as a place where monarchs of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties held ceremonies to pray for good weather and bountiful harvests.
Today, this majestic three-tiered circular structure, once exclusive to the ruling class, is one of the capital city's most favored tourist spots. People share various photographic perspectives on social media, capturing its gilded golden top, deep-blue glazed tiles and red pillars that define Beijing's awe-inspiring historic aura.
Eight decades ago, watercolorist Guan Guangzhi (1896-1958) was one of those who frequently visited the Temple of Heaven. He preserved the magnificence of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests through vivid colors and restrained brushwork. One of his extant works from the 1940s depicts a serene summer scene in which the building is shrouded by verdant, scattered cypresses on both sides and an expansive grassy field at the front. The thickness of the pigments accentuates the solemn mood of the site, while the shifting chiaroscuro — the contrast of the shadows of tree leaves against the light on the dappled wall — renders to the composition a graceful, composed sensibility.
Guan would have been a high-quality content creator with many followers in the social-network age, but in real life, he was a devoted teacher at art schools and an avid painter and printmaker of the imperial architecture and gardens of centuries-old Beijing where he lived from the mid-1920s until his death.
The Splendid Realm of Diligence: Art of Guan Guangzhi, an ongoing exhibition at the Art Museum of the Beijing Fine Art Academy, invites viewers into his watercolor world. Visitors will be immersed in the understated beauty composed of the imperial palaces' eaves emerging in daylight, while trees, flowers and lake ripples radiate vitality. Over 70 watercolors and copperplate prints, including his most iconic Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests works, are on show until Sept 6.
Born in Jilin province, Guan developed an initial interest in classical architecture while studying at an art school in Shenyang, Liaoning province. He often accompanied his watercolor teacher, a British woman, to sketch at the Zhao Mausoleum, commonly known as Beiling, the burial tomb of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty and his empress. After relocating to Beijing, he began creating watercolors of its ancient architecture as a vivid testament to the city's imperial past.
