Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum, Beijing, China

The Central Academy of Fine Arts, referred to as “CAFA”, was born in 1918. It was first named the National Beijing Academy of Fine Arts, the first national art education institution in Chinese history, and the beginning of modern art education in China. CAFA gave birth to the earliest art system in China and created the earliest university disciplines in calligraphy, modeling, design, architecture, and humanities in China. It is the founder of higher education in Chinese art since modern times.

The Central Academy of Fine Arts was founded in 1918 and was a national Beijing art school initiated by Mr. Cai Yuanpei. In 1927, it was renamed the School of Art of Peiping University. In 1934, it was restored to the National Peiping Academy of Fine Arts. “In November 1949, the National Peiping Art College merged with the three Art Departments of North China University. The predecessor of the three Art Departments of North China University was the Art Department of Yan’an Lu Xun Academy of Art, founded in 1938. With the approval of the Central People’s Government, the National Academy of Fine Arts was established. In January 1950, it was officially named the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

The Central Academy of Fine Arts is the only high school of fine arts directly under the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. Programs, Chinese government scholarships for foreign students in China, receiving universities and the first batch of Ministry of Education demonstration bases for studying in China.

Building
The Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum is a professional, international modern art museum that integrates academic research, exhibition display, collection restoration and public education. Adhering to the academic concept of “compatibility and integration with the past,” it serves society with “intelligence”, is committed to the construction of contemporary public cultural space, presents the human art civilization to the general public with a new perspective, and shares the era with all sectors of society culture.

The new museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts is designed by the famous Japanese architect ARATA ISOZAKI. It is the first art museum in China designed by Isozaki.

The museum building covers an area of ​​3546 square meters, with a total construction area of ​​14,777 square meters. The art gallery is located in a curved field, and the external shape of the stone curtain wall and the roof curve transition into a shell, like a three-dimensional boomerang. The large area of ​​the entrance and exit adopts a glass curtain, which increases the permeability of the building while meeting the needs of daylighting. The exterior wall of the art museum is covered with gray-green slate, which is in harmony with the gray brick colors of other buildings on the campus of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

The museum is 24 meters high and has 6 floors, including 4 floors above ground and 2 floors underground. The first basement is the office area; the second basement is the collection storehouse and the restoration room. The ground floor provides an empty public space for the audience, with a coffee shop, multi-functional conference room and academic lecture hall that can accommodate 380 people; the second floor is a relatively closed space, completely using lights, avoiding damage to the work by ultraviolet rays in the sun . The lighting equipment adopts German Erco lamps uniformly. At the same time, in order to cooperate with the light, the ground uses rough and dense granite stone, which solves the problem of light reflection. This floor also includes a glass cabinet exhibition hall, which provides a safe and ideal space for the display of art treasures. The highest level on the third floor is 11 meters high. There is no column in the open space. Natural lighting meets the requirements for light. It is similar to the fourth floor exhibition hall. The combination can adapt to the display needs of various volume works.

Collection
The Art Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (Old art garlley) was founded in 1953. It was designed by Chinese architectural designer Zhang Kaiji, a professor of Tsinghua University. The front of the building is inlaid with the collective creation of more than a dozen artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The relief murals of professional subjects reflect the development of Chinese art education in the early days of the founding of New China. At the same time, there are large-area decorative patterns on the side of the building, which is one of the rare and well-preserved art buildings in Beijing. It is also the first professional art exhibition hall built after the founding of New China.

According to the school’s official website information in December 2015, the art museum has collected more than 13,000 pieces of various fine art works, including pre-Qing Dynasty and modern art masters, representative works of contemporary artists, and outstanding works of students since the establishment of the institute, China Domestic and foreign artists and their families, fine art works donated by foreign governments and organizations in China, and foreign works of art transferred by the Chinese government and other cultural institutions.

The collections include Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, sculptures and folk arts such as New Year pictures, weaving and embroidery, ethnic costumes and utensils, as well as a group of ancient Chinese cultural relics such as bronze, ceramics, carving crafts and inscriptions.

In addition, the museum’s collection includes very precious original European oil paintings, such as Courbet’s “The Girl with a Pearl Necklace”, as well as many works of considerable research value painted by Chinese oil painters in foreign museums in China. Copy of Western masterpieces, studying in the early years the creations of Chinese foreign artists and the works of Chinese contemporary oil painters.

In the collection of ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy, there are various original paintings by Zhou Zhimian, Zhu Xi, Xu Gu, Huang Shen, Dong Qichang, Yuan Jiang, Ren Yi, Wu Changshuo and other generations. Among them, about 100 ancient Chinese calligraphy and paintings have been loaded into the country. “Ancient Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Catalogue”, some works are included in “Complete Works of Chinese Art”. In addition to its achievements in the collection of ancient calligraphy and painting, the museum also collects the works of masters such as 20th-century Chinese painting masters Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, Huang Binhong, Lin Fengmian, Wu Zuoren, Li Kuchan, Li Keran, Huang Qiuyuan, and some contemporary Chinese painters.

In addition, woodcuts, copperplates, lithographs, and other forms of prints in various styles, the museum also has a certain collection; contemporary painters Dong Xiwen, Ye Qianyu, Liu Lingcang, Xiao Shufang, Zhang Jian and other Lintong include Dunhuang, Yongle Palace, Mai Jishan, etc. Copies of murals in grotto temples and murals by some early students at the Academy of Fine Arts are also among the collections.

Audio guide
The Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum provides audio guide services to provide the best auxiliary tools and listening experience for your viewing experience. The audio guide of the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum invites domestic and foreign experts, scholars, curators and dubbing professionals to try to create the best listening experience. Make your visit to the museum more convenient and comfortable, and go further from art.

Cafe
The museum has a coffee shop, which is open to the museum’s audience, and provides fresh coffee, drinks, desserts and light meals. It includes not only indoor public seats, but also outdoor dining chairs in the sunken square for audience use. People can listen to melodious music here, bathe in the warm sunshine, and swim between art and life, filling everything with emptiness.

Art store
Located on the first floor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum, it is mainly based on limited art derivative products independently developed by our museum, as well as exquisite products of other brands. The types of books operated by the art bookshop include art publications independently published by our library, as well as various Chinese and foreign art albums, art history and design books.

Library
As of August 2007, the library has a collection of more than 310,000 books, an average of more than 80 books per student, nearly 20,000 new books each year, and more than 4 books per student per year. The books in the library are mainly Chinese and foreign fine art books and periodicals, supplemented by social science books, especially art books and albums. The library has a wire-bound book library and a rare book library, which includes a large number of wire-bound rare books, illustrated book-bound ancient books, woodblock prints, posters, comics, Han Dynasty stone carved portrait extensions, historical inscriptions, original prints, and art publications during the Republic of China.

Study
According to the school’s official website information in December 2015, the Central Academy of Fine Arts has undertaken more than 80 national scientific research projects at various levels, including: the National Social Science Fund Project, the National Social Science Fund Art Project, and the National Education Science Planning Project; Major research projects on philosophy and social sciences of the Ministry of Education, post-funded projects of the philosophy and social sciences of the Ministry of Education, humanities and social science research projects of the Ministry of Education, Huo Yingdong Education Foundation project; co-construction plan construction project of Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Beijing philosophy and social science planning project ; Art and Humanities Research Project of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (general, key); National Natural Science Foundation of China, etc.

The academic project research of the Central Academy of Fine Arts has achieved widely recognized results by the country, academia, the art world, and society. In 2005, the project “Replication of Traditional Chinese Sculptures and Establishment of Contemporary Chinese Art Education System” hosted by Professor Yuan Yunsheng won the first Ministry of Culture Innovation Award; in 2006, Professor Jin Weinuo’s “On the History of Chinese Art” was awarded the “Fourth The 2nd Chinese University Humanities and Social Sciences Research Outstanding Achievement Award “(Second Prize in Art Studies), Researcher Qiao Xiaoguang’s” Living Culture-A Preliminary Study of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage “won the” 4th Chinese University Humanities and Social Science Research Outstanding Achievement Award ” (Third prize in arts). In 2009, Prof. Yin Jinan’s “Ming Dynasty painter Xie Huan’s amateur life and Mimi Yunshan painting-one of a series of studies on the knowledge generation of Chinese painting history” won the “Fifth China University Humanities and Social Science Research Outstanding Achievement Award” (Second Prize in Art Studies).

Creative achievements
In the 10th National Fine Arts Exhibition, teachers and students of the school won one gold (award), three silver (award), eight bronze (award), and fourteen outstanding (award) results.

Publication
“Art Research” is a journal of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. It was first published in 1957 and reissued in 1979. Selected as a Chinese social science journal and a core Chinese journal. Columns include: art teaching research, art history research, painting theory research, calligraphy research, folk art research, creation and review, pursuit and personality, exhibition evaluation, and Chinese and foreign cultural exchanges.

“World Fine Arts” is hosted by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, published by the “Art Research” Magazine of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and was launched in 1979. It adopts a plate structure and mainly reports international art trends, large-scale art exhibitions and activities, and the interaction between China and global culture; Review of art, analysis of classic works, research of contemporary artists, introduction of museums and galleries; latest achievements of art history research, introduction of research on art history methods, art criticism and theory.

Culture
“Be subtle, to the vast” comes from Chapter 27 of “The Golden Mean”, “Cultivate Yourself.” During the school celebration, the campus network solicited painting quotes from famous teachers. Nearly 60% of the teachers and students chose the concept advocated by Xu Beihong when he was teaching in the Academy of Fine Arts: “Be the most subtle and reach the broadest.” Former Dean Pan Gongkai said that these six words reflect the principles and sentiments of “self-cultivation, scholarship, research and innovation, and service to the country” that the Central Academy of Fine Arts has always adhered to, as well as the “focus on mission, advocating academic, “Respecting talents and being compatible.”