As an artistic expression, printmaking is highly respected by Lu Xun for its strong appeal of content expression. Recently, the exhibition "Imagination and Truth: The Late Qing Empire in Nineteenth-Century European Copperplate Engravings" was exhibited in the special exhibition hall of the "Benliu Art Garden" of the Lu Xun Memorial Hall in Shanghai, presenting the copperplate engravings from Thomas Arom's copperplate engraving collection "China: The Landscape, Architecture and Social Customs of that Ancient Empire" published in 1843, leading the audience to glimpse the late Qing Dynasty depicted by Europeans in copperplate engravings.
The paper learned that the exhibition was jointly organized by the Shanghai Lu Xun Memorial Hall and the Ningbo China Port Museum. The exhibition features 90 copperplate engravings from Thomas Arom's 1843 collection Of Thomas Arom's Copperplate Engravings, China: Landscapes, Architecture and Social Customs of that Ancient Empire, published in the Ningbo Port museum, as well as nine European copperplate engraving books related to Lu Xun in the Collection of the Lu Xun Memorial Museum in Shanghai. The organizers hope that by showing these copperplate engravings with rich layers, delicate lines and clear contours, the audience will be able to appreciate the precise and delicate techniques and dense composition of European copperplate engravings.
Exhibition site
From the 7th to the 19th century, Europe set off a "Chinese cultural fever", and in the eyes of some Europeans, China was an "ideal country". Early missionaries who visited China vigorously preached in their letters that China's cities were rich and prosperous, that the rulers were noble and benevolent, and that the people were honest and courteous. Europeans were fascinated by the Eastern country, with thinkers such as Voltaire praising China for having the highest morals, aristocrats chasing Chinese art, and merchants yearning for China's wealth.
Thomas Arom, "The Hall of Light in the Old Summer Palace, Beijing"
Thomas Arom, The Great Wall of China
Thomas Arom, Xizhimen, Beijing, China
Against this backdrop, the famous British architect and painter Thomas Allrom created a set of watercolor paintings depicting Chinese scenes, which were made and published in 1843 by the Fisher Company in London. The contents of the prints are all-encompassing, from the ingenious royal palaces to the exquisite and elegant ancient towns in the south, from the profligate dignitaries to the ordinary people who live a difficult life, from the busy and lively production activities to the sincere and sincere worship pictures, from the quiet and serene harbor scenery to the tense and fierce war scenes, all of which are depicted by Arom's delicate brushstrokes. As soon as the album was published, it was highly sought after, and Europeans who had never been to China hoped to truly understand this ancient oriental country through this album. Unfortunately, Arom himself has never been to China, and half of his China comes from the "authentic" sketches of painters who have traveled to China, and half from his own, or the collective imagination of Europeans, of China.
In Thomas Arom's copperplate engraving collection China: The Landscape, Architecture and Social Customs of that Ancient Empire, the audience can see the depictions of the Qing Dynasty by Western painters, including the Great Wall, The Xizhimen gate in Beijing, the Zhengda Guangming Hall in the Yuanmingyuan, etc., as well as depictions of the folk customs and festivals of the time, such as the Dragon Boat Festival and the Altar of Mazu Temple.
Thomas Arom, Dragon Boat Club in May
Thomas Arom, "Dinghai Mazu Temple Altar"
Thomas Arom, "Chinese Fishermen On the Ancient Canal Save Time and Effort by Fishing with Ospreys"
Thomas Arom, "Guadalcanal Waterwheel"
As an artistic expression, printmaking is highly respected by Lu Xun for its strong appeal of content expression. Lu Xun painstakingly collected prints from Europe and Japan, and introduced the works of excellent European printmakers such as Kollwitz and Meferd to China, believing that the works of these European printmakers were "very worthy of study by art students and art lovers", which promoted the vigorous development of the emerging woodcut movement in China at that time. The reporter learned that the holding of this exhibition is also a kind of review and inheritance of Lu Xun's vigorous promotion of the emerging woodcut movement.
Thomas Arom, "Tea Ship Loading"
Thomas Arom, The Chinese Cat Dealer
The exhibition is dominated by copperplate engravings, which are different from woodblock prints, which are prints made of metal materials (usually copper). When making plates, the author uses metal engraving knives or acidic liquid corrosion to engrave the copper plate layout with the required pattern. When printing, first coat the layout with ink, so that all the concave lines are filled with ink, remove the ink other than the concave line and place it on the copper plate machine to emboze, and after the paper is pressed, the ink in the concave line is adsorbed and then formed a raised line. Because the concave lines have thickness, depth and density, and the amount of ink attached is different, the copperplate engraving is more layered and the tone change is more complex, which can show a very delicate picture effect.
Kaisui Kele Huizhi "Sacrifice", prints, Shanghai Lu Xun Memorial Museum collection
Mayfield's print "Laborer", Shanghai Lu Xun Memorial Museum Collection
Mayfield's "Little Red Flag", Shanghai Lu Xun Memorial Museum Collection
In addition, the exhibition also features nine European copperplate engraving books related to Lu Xun in the collection of the Lu Xun Memorial Museum in Shanghai, including gustave Doré's copperplate engravings.
Doré was a famous French printmaker, sculptor and illustrator in the 19th century, who did copperplate engraving illustrations for the Rabelais Anthology, the Bible, the Divine Comedy, etc. Lu Xun also paid attention to Duolei's illustrations. The exhibition is also a concentrated display of the Lu Xun Memorial's illustrations of Gustav Doré's copperplate engravings.
Doré copper engraving "Divine Comedy"
Doré copper engraving Don Quixote
Exhibition hall scene, Doré copper engraving "Bible"
Exhibition hall scene, Doré copper engraving "Crusade"
At the exhibition hall site, Doré copper engraving "Paradise Lost"
The exhibition will be on view until April 5. (Due to the epidemic situation, the exhibition hall is temporarily closed, and the public number of the exhibition hall can be consulted when the opening hours are resumed.) ）