Henan exhibition honors Tianjin art lineage

Traditional Chinese paintings by teachers of the Chinese painting department at Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts are on show at the Henan Art Museum in Zhengzhou. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The turn of the 19th to the 20th century witnessed a wave of art movements aimed at reforming classical Chinese painting in the context of modernism, including those in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin that collectively formed the Beijing-Tianjin school.

While much of the spotlight has been on the group's more prominent members of Beijing, painters in Tianjin, a city now recognized for its relaxed urban character, have likewise continued to carry forward the ink-painting tradition through both artistic creation and education.

A current exhibition at the Henan Art Museum in Zhengzhou, set to conclude on Tuesday, presents traditional-style paintings by the faculty of the Chinese painting department at Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, illustrating the school's enduring legacy of inheritance and continuous reforms in the ink realm.