Home » Feature » Events and TV
Understanding the art of Dunhuang
Print Edition
DUNHUANG art has a long history. Even though nobody knows who painted the caves, they all have unique styles from different eras. During the process of facsimiling and analyzing the patterns of murals, Saone Chang got the chance to understand the art of Dunhuang.
Born in Lyon, France, in 1931, Chang studied painting and decorative design under the guidance of her father Chang Shuhong, who was the first director of the National Dunhuang Art Research Institute (today’s Dunhuang Research Academy).
Her father’s insistence on protecting Dunhuang art was the motivation for her to stay in Dunhuang between the 1940s and 1950s despite the harsh environment.
In Dunhuang, Chang met Lin Huiying, who was known as the first female architect in modern China, and her husband Liang Sicheng, hailed as the “father of modern Chinese architecture.”
Lin studied Chinese decorative patterns of potteries, lacquer wares, murals and bronze wares of every dynasty. She often lamented that these patterns were significant treasures of the 5,000-year Chinese culture and art, but no one had really studied and used them. Chang then started to combine Dunhuang art patterns with modern artifacts, and developed her own style in the field of painting and design.
The ongoing exhibition “Everlasting Beauty of Dunhuang” at the Liu Haisu Art Museum features more than 200 of Chang’s works spanning over six decades.
Items on display include her original sketches in the Mogao Caves in the 1940s, detailed design scripts and the application of Dunhuang decorative art on a variety of costumes and modern objects in recent years.
In this exhibition, the “root” is the long history of Dunhuang art, and the “branch” is the innovative products based on Dunhuang elements.
The philosophy of the “root and branch” is the central idea of preserving and promoting Dunhuang art — a priceless treasure of Chinese culture.
Date: Through May 14 (closed on Monday),
9am-5pm
Venue: Liu Haisu Art Museum
Address: 1609 Yan’an Rd W.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
