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Renaissance Art Show, curtain raiser for Italian Culture Year.
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Since the beginning of this year, novel posters depicting a terra
cotta warrior and Michelangelo’s David greeting each other
in their respective tongues have appeared all over Beijing, heralding
the arrival of the Italian Culture Year in China. It opened on
January 21 with the highly anticipated Renaissance Art Show, which
ran till April 23 at the capital’s Millennium Monument’s
World Art Museum. During the exhibition, some 86 original works
of the best Italian art could be viewed by the Chinese public
for the first time.
Today, Europe is a hot destination among Chinese tourists, and
Italy is a must-stop point. The magnificent dome of St. Peter’s
Basilica, the cradle of artistic genius that is Florence, and
the canal city of Venice transport visitors back to the days of
Old Italy.
China first held an Italian art exhibition back in 1983. Though
most of the works on display were replicas, like the Mona Lisa,
David and Moses, they nevertheless caused a sensation among the
nation’s artistic circles. Imagine the stir that the genuine
articles created.
The 2006 exhibition made front-page headlines in dozens of newspapers
around the country. Comprised of artworks dating back six centuries,
the exhibition includes original work by Leonardo Da Vinci. Promoters
lured the visitors in with the line, “See the best art in
12 Florence museums without leaving the country!” Masters
including Da Vinci, Masaccio, Sandro, Sandro Butticelli, Raphael
and Caravaggio all represented various schools and styles across
Italy during the Renaissance period, and their works were revealed
to an enthusiastic Chinese crowd comprised of young and old, and
art novices and experts, at the Renaissance Art Show.
Chinese painter Chen Danqing says, “All contemporary Chinese
artists that work with Western art can trace its aesthetical conceptions
and techniques back to the Renaissance.” He believes that
the show’s significance extended beyond giving young artists
the chance to view priceless works – perhaps it also helped
them to discover the “cultural roots” of industrialization
in Europe.
The 86 Renaissance paintings and statues that were shown in Beijing
are valued at some RMB 3.5 billion. Thus painstaking efforts had
to be taken to ensure their safety and security. The venue had
the entire exhibition floor renovated to ensure the optimum temperature,
humidity and lighting for the works. All the artworks were carefully
checked upon leaving Florence, arriving in Beijing, and departing
Beijing again. The venue renovation was overseen by the Italian
side at a cost of RMB 3 million. To reduce damage by lighting,
special sensors were put in place that turned the lights on only
when visitors were within viewing distance of the works.
Chen Lu’an, a student at the Shandong Art Institute, made
the long journey to Beijing to view the exhibition, and said the
trip was well worthwhile. “I spent the whole day at the exhibition,
as it was a rare chance for me to see such precious artwork. Standing
in front of these magnificent pieces, I could almost feel the
Great Masters’ breath!”
Many Chinese shared Chen’s excitement, but not all who visited
the exhibition were equally impressed. One art lover that flew
in from Shanghai claimed that it “didn’t have the same
impact as past exhibitions.” In fact, the Renaissance Art
Show did not draw as large a crowd as the Impressionism Exhibition
in the capital two years ago, which received as many as 10,000
visitors a day. On its opening day, the Renaissance Art Show received
only 1,700 visitors.
Either way, the success of the Renaissance Art Show reveals a
growing hunger among Chinese for diverse art. That hunger is satisfied
in an increasingly open China that can offer its citizens more
access to different cultures and arts. Meanwhile, certain immovable
Renaissance artworks need not feel left out – rising incomes
mean that for many Chinese, a trip to St. Peter’s Basilica
is no longer just a dream.
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