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Landscape master

Qian Songyan is among the greatest creators of classic Chinese mountain-and-water paintings of the 20th century. His works in the collection of the National Art Museum of China have shown at exhibitions in the past. Recently, the museum received two paintings from two members of Qian's family, Lin Xiaoshan and Sun Jie. The couple donated two landscape paintings from the early 1960s, representing Qian's endeavor in combining cultural traditions with the artistic requirements of the socialist construction era. One painting is Ode to Yan'an, which depicts a landmark pagoda on top of a hill in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, hub of the Chinese communist movement. Another work is Xiling Gorge, which shows mountains along the Yangtze River that constitute a marvelous view of the gorge, one of the largest of its kind. The works are in reminiscence of Qian's art approach — infusing realism with revolutionary romanticism. The two paintings are on show at Rocks and Evergreen Pines, an exhibition through Nov 9 at the museum in Beijing, where some 29 Qian landscapes from the collection are displayed. It surveys the creation of landscape paintings in the 1950s and '60s, a prime time in Qian's life and work.

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