From the heart of Guangdong, the figure of Hu Gentian resurfaces today with renewed strength in the exhibition Hu Gentian and the Western Art Development in 20th Century Guangdong, on view until August 24 at the Museum of the Beijing Academy of Painting. The exhibition tells, with clarity and depth, the story of a pioneer who marked the beginning of artistic modernity in Southern China. Trained in Japan, Hu brought back to his homeland the ideals of European modernism, blending humanist thought, Western painting techniques, and education. His impact went far beyond the canvas - he founded schools, promoted educational reforms, and built intellectual networks, laying the foundations for modern art education in Guangdong. Through the Chishe Art Research Society and the first public fine arts school in southern China, he championed oil painting, life drawing, and a new sense of formal freedom.
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