Modern Chinese Painting & Europe: New Perceptions, Artists Encounters and the Formation of Collections

Twentieth Century China experienced the collapse of its imperial system and the rise of a modern nation state. It was a century of war and revolution, as well as a time of reorientation and renewal. In their search for inspiration and reform, Chinese artists travelled abroad making Europe one of their foremost destinations. Artistic exchange and international interaction at the beginning of the twentieth century allowed museums and scholars in St. Petersburg, Prague, Berlin, Paris and the United Kingdom to be among the first in the West to exhibit, collect and study modern Chinese paintings.