Research On Modern Oil Painting Art In The Pearl River Delta Of Guangdong

As art study develops,more scholars start ed researching and investigating the history of western art development through the Cantonese sea route during the Ming and Qing Dynasty in recent years.For example,the once prosperous Guangzhou “Thirteen Industries” “Export Art” art genre became a popular research topic.Most of the research focused on the western art and the Asianization of “Export Art”,combining various art genres and decorative art’s big-art view alongside with “Export Art”,“Business Art”,and “Commercial Art” to generalize the Pearl River Delta Area’s modern painting art history.However,incomprehensive understanding and definition of the art sabotaged the importance of the history and value of the “Export Art” genre.Therefore,it is even more crucial for the researches to categorize and compile early art history based on geography.This research focuses on examining the em ergence and dissemination of western oil paintings at the Pearl River Port in Guangdong province by utilizing historic al clues and existing oil paintings.It plans to address the historical reasons for the rise and fall of oil paintings.The goal is to clarify the true art history of Pearl River Delta Area’s art accomplishments,and to reestablish the historical significance of its painting style in Chinese oil painting society.Early western oil paintings were introduced to the East Pearl River by the Catholic Jesuit missionaries.Amongst them all,St.Francisco Xavier arrived in Shangchuan Island on Guangdong Province in 1552,marking it a historical focal point in the appearance of western oil painting."Mu Meiren”(Wooden Beauty),an early religious oil painting mostly likely done by Giovanni and his apprentice,was finished between 1583 to 1626.The art piece is curren tly collected in the museum of Xinhui City,Guangdong Province.The founder of Guangdong’s early oil paintings,Shi Beilin,and his followers Guan Zuolin and Guan Qiaochang,shoul d be three oil painters from different periods.Another important figure was George Chinnery,he who had a western school background contributed 25 years in Macau to produce oil paintings since his arrival in 1825 and his death in 1852.He never left the Pearl River.He spent tremendous effort in Macao to develop the oil painting industry and left countless oil paintings,watercolors,and sketches for th e Macao region.He became the most prominent figure for oil painting in the Pearl River Delta region.As the first Chinese to enter the Western school education system to study oi l painting,Li Tiefu should own the status he deserved in the history of Chinese oil painting.The "Red Society of Fine Arts Research" played an important role in promoting oil painting in Guangdong — they held exhibitions that generated a huge social impact in Guangzhou art soci ety.Guangzhou Municipal Fine Arts School is the earliest public art school in southern China in 1922.It was founded right after 1918 when Zheng Jin became the first president of the National Beijing Fine Arts School.By 1938,the sc hool was forced to disband when the Japanese army invaded South China.However,the sh ort living of the school did not hinder its quality of education.A total of 210 Western painting graduates were trained,bringing together Hu Gentian,Feng Gangbai,Tan Huamu,Guan Liang,Ding Yanyong and many other influential painters.In addition to the Guangzhou Municipal Art School,there are Guangdo ng Provincial Art College,National Guangdong University,and Lingnan University.Also,there are many outstanding art educators such as Pang Xunyi,Yang Qiuren,Su Tianci,and Fang Junyi.Th e Hong Kong "Human Painting Society" was essentially an art incubator in Guangdong.Studies showed that the prosperity of modern oil painting in the early 20 th century was heavily dependent on the open ports in the Pearl River Delta during Ming and Qing Dynasties.The historical significance of modern oil painting in the Guangdong Pearl River Delta region became an integral part of Chinese oil painting history.