Looking back, moving forward

An ongoing exhibition at the Beijing Fine Art Academy's museum offers a rare opportunity to see more than 70 works by Jiang Zhaohe (1904-86), one of modern China's most celebrated figure painters.

Born in Luzhou, Sichuan province, Jiang showed a strong interest in traditional drawing. In 1920, he went to Shanghai, where he taught himself Western art techniques and worked as an advertisement designer. He was first recognized at a national art exhibition in 1929 in Shanghai, and became a professional painter afterward.

The versatile artist expressed himself through oil painting, sculpture, industrial design and ink painting. He exerted a strong influence on later generations of Chinese figure painters.

Organizers have arranged the displays the way they were placed in his art studio in the 1940s.

Exhibits on display include some of his signature figure paintings, newly discovered sketches, oils, drafts and a 1941 catalogue of his early works.

The show juxtaposes Jiang's completed figure paintings against relevant sketches and original photos of the people in his works to help viewers see how he created such masterpieces as 1943's Liu Min Tu (Runaway Peasants).

9 am-5 pm, until July 11. Museum of the Beijing Fine Art Academy, 1 Liulitun Beili, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-6507-1285.