On April 23, Imitation and Originality: A Research Exhibition of Sketches and Draft Paintings by Pu Xinyu opened to the public in Ledao Hall of Prince Kung's Palace Museum.
Pu Xinyu (1896-1963, also known as Puru) from the Aisin Gioro clan, was the grandson of Prince Kung Yixin and the second son of Prince Zaiying, and holds a significant place in modern Chinese fine arts history. Excelling in various fields such as literature, history, poetry, calligraphy, and painting, Pu was as renowned as artist Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), being collectively referred to as "Zhang in the South and Pu in the North".
Prince Kung's Palace was the place where Pu Xinyu grew up, the rich collection of his family laying a solid foundation for his traditional cultural upbringing. The museum has also been an initiator of research on Pu Xinyu and a major collector of Pu's paintings in the Chinese mainland. Two research exhibitions of Pu Xinyu's draft paintings have been held at the museum since 2021.
As a phase summary of the exhibition series, the ongoing exhibition compares and analyzes Pu's draft paintings and final artworks, presenting the function of drafts in the evolution of his final paintings. It also provides a practical insight into Pu's innovative inheritance of traditional and classical Chinese cultural legacy.
The exhibition is divided into three sections: painting drafts in the process of Pu Xinyu's painting creation, Pu Xinyu's sketching drafts, and resources, methods, and goals of Pu's painting drafts.
Gathering a total of 35 of Pu Xinyu's painting drafts and 28 complete paintings from the Memorial of Mei Lanfang, the Hunan Museum, the Capital Museum, Beijing Art Museum, the CAFA Art Museum, and Prince Kung's Palace Museum, the exhibition displays a group of Pu Xinyu's painting masterpieces. The 13 pieces from the Hunan Museum's permanent collection are truly a rare sight, as most of them are on public display for the first time.
In line with the theme of the 2024 International Museum Day – "Museums for Education and Research", the exhibition is accompanied by a variety of consecutive public education programs. At the opening ceremony held on April 29, artworks from "Entering the Landscape", a painting course designed for primary school students, were showcased. Guests at the opening ceremony collectively completed the final step of the students' work, piecing together eight paintings to form a complete picture, which marked the opening of the exhibition.
The exhibition will run until July 21, 2024 (closed Mondays).
