As part of the grand exhibition of late Chinese art master Yan Wenliang, a lecture about Yan's achievement in art is held in Yanhuang Art Museum on April 20, 2010. Zhao Li, professor of Central Academy of Fine Art, tells hundreds of art fans about Yan's uniqueness in Chinese art history.

Yan was born in 1893 in Suzhou. As one of the first generation of Chinese oil painters, Yan followed similar career paths as his peers: going abroad to learn Western painting and returning home to lead the development of modern art. When he came back to China, he established the Suzhou Fine Arts College with some friends in 1922, which had the most sculptures and art books.

Though Yan was one of the first artists introducing western painting skill and style to China, what made him stand out of his peer masters was the Chinese spirit he expressed in his watercolor and oil paintings, according to Zhao Li. Most of Yan's works depicted sceneries and people in China. Unlike many other Chinese oil painters, Yan went out to draw in the nature instead of sitting in his studio. Thus the audiences were familiar with the objects he painted.

Zhao Li tells the audience about Yan's uniqueness by his painting Grandma's Sister [China.org.cn]

Yan's idea and skill about art coincided with traditional Chinese artists. Zhao explained this with Yan's watercolor work Grandma's Sister. Different from classic western artists who draw still models for hours, Yan painted his relative, a rural elder lady, when she was doing daily house work. It's a challenge for an artist's memory and accuracy. Instead of precisely drawing every detail of the lady, he applied the concept of freehand drawing ("Xie Yi" in Chinese) to capture the mood and movement. Moreover, he left small blank areas to imply the changing light and shade, which was a traditional Chinese painting method.

Yan spent his life trying to absorb the quintessence from both east and west. He succeeded in keeping a balance between western scientific demonstrations of objects and traditional Chinese art philosophy. His works are auctioned by Christies and Sothby's.

The exhibition has attracted about 30,000 visitors from all over China and will last till May 10.