Chinese Academy of Painting: Formation, Development, Objectives

Abstract

The study covers the formation, development, and objectives of the Chinese Academy of Painting. Particular emphasis is on the current stage of its work and the tasks it is designed to solve. The research methodology is based on the use of general scientific methods of scientific work: historical, analytical, method of comparison, and logical method (operating with knowledge and means of obtaining it that allows to systematize new knowledge without returning to empirical calculations). For the first time in Ukrainian historiography and museum studies, the work hightlights the features of development of the Chinese Academy of Painting as an important element of training of future artists of China. In addition, significant structural changes in the activities of the modern system of training in this field of art are pointed out. Conclusions. During the 10th–12th centuries the academy was a powerful educational institution with its own hierarchy of teachers, a system of education (which also included the mastery of philosophy and poetry). At the beginning of the twentieth century, Chinese masters tried to combine traditional and contemporary European art. Today, the work of the Academy is quite democratic, and Chinese art is returning to free dialogue. At the same time, the Academy does not repudiate social projects, its main task isto serve people. Young artists have to master various techniques, first of all to create their own paintings. This will give them the opportunity to form their own painting style based on already acquired skills and knowledge. Their artworks should not imitate ancient painting but also bring something new to the development of Chinese culture. Hence, Chinese painting is a modern art with its own educational system, created byChinese ethnic peoples through the accumulation of millennial experience.