Twentieth-century art in China

During the twentieth century, Chinese art was marked by profound transformations. At the beginning of the century, faced with the national and social crisis, artists developed new art forms with the aim of innovating and enlightening people. In the following decades, the leap towards modernity occurred through the teaching of new practices and the opening to new languages ​​​​from other countries. Art had to descend into reality and become an active part of social transformation. With the advent of the People's Republic of China, a turning point was reached, and art became the instrument to serve the masses of workers, peasants and soldiers, advocating the "new art of the people". The policy of emancipation of the mind of the time radically changed Chinese society and ushered in a new phase. Artists engaged in profound reflections on history, culture and human nature, while confidently envisioning the future. Through a journey that winds through the selection of 200 works of 20th-century Chinese art, organized chronologically into three sections, 1900-1949, 1950-1976 and 1977-2000, the CAFA Museum traces the development of plastic arts over the course of a century, capturing the spirit of the times during different phases.