Visitors appreciate traditional Chinese paintings presented by Yingu Art Mansion Gallery on the preview of 'Fine Art Beijing' Friday night, November 6, 2009. [CRI]

After a dramatic and sharp downturn in the volatile Chinese contemporary art market, "Fine Art Beijing" opens in the city's Agricultural Exhibition Centre drawing people's attention once again to an opulent collection of classical works that have withstood the test of time.

About 30 galleries from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Germany and France are attending the three-day show. Many dazzling masterpieces from the French Barbizon School, Impressionism as well as some of the finest examples of Chinese paintings are on display.

Art Beijing 2009-Fine Art Fair runs from Saturday to next Monday. The event already received a very positive response from the art community during a preview for art collectors, dealers and gallery owners Friday night.

The exhibition offers Chinese art lovers a chance to see old master oil paintings and 19th century art from Germany's Hagemann Gallery and the Classic Jen Western Arts Salon.

One major piece provided by the Hagemann Gallery is "Femme Debout" by Edgar Degas, one of the most fascinating Masters of French Impressionism. It has been valued at around 10 million RMB, or 1.5 million dollars.

Mr Hagemann poses in front of "Femme Debout" by Edgar Degas, one of the most fascinating Masters of French Impressionism.[CRI]

Mr. Hagemann, the gallery owner, says history shows the value of classic art is far more stable than that of contemporary work.

"I think in every period, no matter if it is classic or contemporary art, you always have ups and downs. But history has shown that if the value of classic art goes down, it only goes down a little, and if it goes up, it only goes up a little. Contemporary art is different, sometimes going up very fast and also going down very fast."

Mr Hagemann also strongly focuses on traditional Chinese art. He particularly likes the artist Chen Yifei, saying that these works have shown the value of this kind of art to be very stable. When such rare and high quality paintings enter the market, the price is normally very high, similar to when classic paintings hit European markets.

The Hagemann family has been collecting art for over 40 years. It specializes in important Dutch and Flemish paintings of the 17th century as well as French Impressionists paintings of the 19th century.

Mr Hagemann enjoys introducing western oil paintings to the Chinese people. He said every year they bring several hundred-year old paintings from around the world to China. Some of the works have included paintings by masters such as Renoir and Rubens.

Shanghai's Classic Jen Western Arts Salon brought a number of works from the mid-nineteenth century Barbizon school to the exhibition, including one piece by French landscape painter Camille Corot (1796-1875), a leading painter at the school.

Gallery host Jennifer Zhou, also a professional investor, said one of their aims is to provide guidance to Chinese art investors and promote the classic art sector which maintains a relatively stable value and is of high aesthetic value. It was a tough time when Ms Zhou started work in China five years ago. This was when the value of contemporary art was picking up quickly. But since then things have improved and now she is quite confident that there is a growing market for the classics.