Stephanie Su (University of Colorado, Boulder)

The 1933 Chinese Art Exhibition in Paris played a crucial role in establishing the category of “modern Chinese painting” in Europe. Opened at the Musée Jeu de Paume in May 1933, the Exposition de la Peinture Chinoise was the first large-scale exhibition of Chinese art in France. It attracted unprecedented numbers of viewers, and afterwards the museum founded a Chinese art gallery. Motivated by the success of earlier Japanese art exhibitions in Paris, the curator Xu Beihong (1895-1953) collaborated with French art museums, private collectors and Chinese artists to organize this show. It was through the interaction and competition among various agents and institutions that the category of “modern Chinese painting” was created in the early 20th century.