Works from the New Jinling Painting School are on display at the Museum of Beijing Painting Institute until February 21.

Entitled "Inherit and Innovate," the exhibition showcases 88 works by the late founders and representative painters of the school, many of which were contributed by family members and are available for public viewing for the first time.

Featuring eminent names such as Fu Baoshi, Chen Zhifo, Qian Songyan, Ya Ming, Song Wenzhi and Wei Zixi, the New Jinling Painting School was founded in the early 1960s in Jiangsu Province. The school came to fame after an exhibition of a large number of sketches recording the 11,500-kilometre three-month journey of its ink painters around several provinces in western and southern China.

Sketches may not seem special today, but were completely new then given the established formula for landscapists to copy the works of the Song and Yuan dynasties.

The painters created another stir in 1961 when 140 ink paintings based on their sketches were shown in Beijing. Different from the old Jinling School of the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the new Jinling breaks through conservatism and nihilism, and instead employs a realistic spirit and style. With landscapes as the main theme, they present an elegant natural flavor and fresh brushwork.

The works are close to ordinary life and record the development of New China.

Sponsored by the Beijing Painting Institute and the Beijing Fine Artists' Association, the current exhibition is also a major event in fine arts circles. Due to the high value of the exhibits, strict security and high quality equipment have been employed. The temperature and moisture standards are being strictly maintained and the lighting installation carefully arranged to ensure perfect viewing of the masterpieces.

(China Daily February 6, 2006)