Old is new again at Beijing art museum

For example, sculptor Li Xiangqun's Four Master Painters of the Yuan Dynasty, musing under the shades of the greeting-guest pines in the museum's court, conjures up images of ancient Chinese painting.

The four art giants of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) are Wang Meng, Ni Zan, Wu Zhen, and Huang Gongwang, creator of the world-famous landscape painting Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains.

The way the sculptor carved out these figures reminds viewers of the xieyi style of classic Chinese ink painting, which features a reduction in detailed brushstrokes.

These sculptures also bring out the literati painting tradition of Chinese ink art. The four masters blazed a trail in the tradition of this genre, which emphasizes the erudition of the painters who fused their craft with poetry and calligraphy.