The Chinese Oil Painting International Itinerant Exhibition, an event showcasing the best that Chinese oil painting has to offer, arrived in Guangzhou on March 3 with over 150 high-quality works on display.

The 11-day exhibition features works by more than 60 artists from the China National Academy of Painting. Highlights include works by Jin Shangyi, former president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Zhong Han, who was selected as academician of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium in 1993. Works from famous Guangzhou-based oil painters - Guo Runwen, Lin Yongkang and Fan Bo – reaped praise as well.

A work by Jin Shangyi, the former president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. [Photo/gd.people.com.cn]

The exhibition was originally held in Paris, France in July 2016 and caused a stir in the city's art scene, with the works receiving praise for "carrying forward and further developing the spirit of European oil painting masters".

Another important feature of the paintings, according to Zhang Zuying, vice president of the China Oil Painting Society and organizer of the exhibition, is that they not only display Chinese culture, but also the spirit of the Chinese nation and the state of contemporary Chinese society. "That is why it was able to attract so many art enthusiasts during its three-week run in Paris, with many even asking for it to be extended," said Zhang.

The exhibition is also scheduled for a month-long showing in Rome, Italy in August this year, according to Zhang. "But our partners from Vittoriano, the venue for the exhibition, offered us an additional two weeks free of charge, illustrating their excitement for the exhibition."

An oil painting of the Great Wall by Zhang Zuying, vice president of the China Oil Painting Society, is on show at the exhibition. [Photo/gd.people.com.cn]

Guangzhou is the second stop in the event's domestic tour, with the first being the Museum of Contemporary Chinese Art in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province during the Spring Festival holiday.

"We chose to hold the exhibition in Guangzhou mainly due to the city's significant role as a historical center for Chinese oil painting," added Zhang.

According to experts, Guangzhou exported large amounts of paintings (including pith paper paintings and oil paintings created by artists in Guangzhou) overseas from the mid-18th century to mid-19th century, most of which had characteristic Chinese features in the eyes of Westerners. These oil paintings with Chinese characteristics played a central role in the indigenization of oil painting in China.

Art lovers flock to admire the works on display at the oil painting exhibition. [Photo/gd.people.com.cn]