Realism and Artists

Until the opening of the first National Art Exhibition in 1929, the painters led by Xu Beihong formed a strong team producing realistic paintings, who had usually received their education in Western art academies, and agreed with Xu Beihong’s arguments for using strict sketching and realistic methods to change Chinese aesthetic habits and the way Chinese see the world. Although the views of artists were not consistent, due to characteristics in modeling realistic art, which can directly depict and represent real life and real characters, Xu Beihong’s ideas and teaching methods were generally accepted, and were considered to provide an effective way for art to reflect social life and real problems.