In the lineage of Chinese figure painting, opera figure painting is a unique entity, an organic combination of opera art and traditional Chinese ink painting, a fusion of the beauty of "opera" and "painting". Starting November 20th, the Zhu Qizhan Art Museum, located near Lu Xun Park in Shanghai, is exhibiting "Waiting for the Stage – Chinese Opera Themed Art Exhibition," which is also the largest opera figure painting exhibition in China in recent years.
Hongkou has a "drama" to offer. Stepping into the exhibition hall, time seems to slow down suddenly. There are no dazzling stage lights, no noisy gongs and drums, only ink paintings capturing moments of the Peking Opera world: "The Peony Pavilion", "Tears on the Wilderness", "The Monkey King", "The Legend of the White Snake"... Classic moments of Chinese opera are captured by more than 60 works by 14 artists, starting with Guan Liang, Zhu Qizhan, Han Yu, Gao Made, etc., and frozen into moving and vivid images in the exhibition.
Exhibition site
A Moment in the Exhibition Hall: A Timeless Stillness at the Threshold of Traditional Chinese Opera
The "Waiting for the Stage" themed exhibition cleverly divides the viewing experience into three acts: "Concentration and Immersion," "Looking at Each Other and Engaging in Dialogue," and "Inside and Outside the Play." This division itself resembles the structure of a good play, guiding the audience to gradually delve into the inner world of the opera character paintings. Curator Ma Yan stated that by capturing and interpreting the state of opera actors at that "critical point" before going on stage through the artworks, the exhibition is both dramatic and full of humanistic warmth, representing a certain modernity in the development of opera. This makes the "Waiting for the Stage" theme an on-site interaction connecting opera aesthetics and artistic expression, and also showcases the narrative and aesthetic value of the "waiting for the stage" scene in the artists' creations.
Guan Liang's "The Monkey King"
In the first section, "Concentration and Immersion," Guan Liang's works, such as "The Monkey King" and "Album of Opera Figures," are particularly eye-catching. Among them, "Album of Opera Figures" is being exhibited to the public for the first time. Guan Liang has loved Peking Opera since childhood. The exhibition opens with documents of Guan Liang's opera figure paintings from the 1920s. At that time, Guan Liang began to try his hand at creating Peking Opera ink paintings. He once explained why he was so fascinated by creating opera figures: "I think the reason why Peking Opera is so moving is that it can subtly convey the thoughts and feelings of the characters in the play through a very concise way of expression. In painting, which is a sister art, very few people have used opera as a subject, which is a great pity. In order to make up for this, I started creating Peking Opera ink paintings."
This artist, born in 1900, was obsessed with Peking Opera throughout his life. He not only frequently watched performances but also studied under the old male actors of the Fu Liancheng Opera Troupe and Gai Jiaotian, accumulating rich stage experience. Guo Moruo once praised Guan Liang's works, saying, "His portraits are vivid and lifelike, readily available. Guan Liang's paintings of stage characters are truly exquisite."
Zhu Qizhan (1892-1996) was a master artist who made significant contributions to and had a wide influence on the history of 20th-century Chinese art. In terms of artistic principles, he and Guan Liang were initially most fascinated by Impressionism and Fauvism, but later returned to traditional Chinese ink painting, and both pursued the "rustic charm" of their works. Guan Liang's style was similar to the "naivety" of children's paintings; Zhu Qizhan, on the other hand, boldly introduced the colors of Impressionism and Fauvism into Chinese painting, not afraid of "inaccurate forms," but focusing on "seeking the meaning."
In addition to displaying a set of opera figure paintings that Guan Liang gifted to Zhu Qizhan's family, the exhibition also presents documents on the exchanges between Guan Liang and Zhu Qizhan in the creation of opera figure paintings, and for the first time exhibits a set of Zhu Qizhan's sketches of opera figure paintings.
The exhibition features documents and old photos related to the exchange between Guan Liang and Zhu Qizhan on creating opera paintings.
Zhu Qizhan's sketches of opera paintings
Han Yu, 94, is a master of opera figure painting. He believes in the importance of "fun" in his life, saying, "If you have fun in your heart, you will find fun everywhere." His paintings and literary creations are also full of fun. As early as the 1970s and 1980s, the animated film "Three Monks," for which he was responsible for character design, won the Golden Rooster Award and the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. In addition to "Three Monks," this exhibition also showcases many of his fine opera figure paintings, such as "The Legend of the White Snake," "The Single-Sword Meeting," and "The Loss of Jieting." These paintings are small in size and at first glance look like children's scribbles, seemingly casual and light. However, they are actually very meticulous and are inspired by both folk art and reading, showing great skill in a seemingly simple way.
At the exhibition, Han Yu's paintings
Exhibition site
Han Yu has unique insights into the "stylization" of traditional Chinese opera. He believes that "the 'stylization' of 'reducing without appearing lacking, adding without appearing excessive' is actually the crystallization of the wisdom of a generation of opera performers."
Gao Made (1917-2007) rose to fame with his cartoons in the 1940s. In the 1960s, he became engrossed in Chinese opera, which allowed him to express his dreams through opera paintings and convey emotions through ink and brush, ultimately achieving a wonderful fusion of freehand and narrative styles. He painted "The Peony Pavilion" for decades, with lines as fine as gossamer and light colors applied to the surface, creating a dreamlike and illusory effect. Wang Zengqi called him "a painter of dreams." He painted the backs of the figures, carefully observing the situation in the play. Wu Zuguang said that his opera paintings "are known for their beauty."
Gao Made's paintings
95-year-old artist Ding Liren, the oldest participating artist at the exhibition opening, said that his opera paintings originated from childhood memories, drawing inspiration from folk art and Han Dynasty paintings. "I paint operas, not in a stage setting, but mainly from listening to my nanny tell stories, like 'Journey to the West,' which was very fun. The creation of opera figure paintings is not primarily about technique, but about enjoyment." For him, opera elements are not external imitations, but a natural expression of his inner world. He skillfully combines folk art with modern consciousness, creating opera figures that are both rustic and powerful.
Partial view of Ding Liren's painting
95-year-old artist Ding Liren (left) and Peking Opera master Shi Yihong at the scene.
"Hongkou Opera": Witnessing the Glory and Inheritance of Chinese Opera
Shanghai, as one of the birthplaces of modern Chinese opera, once witnessed the brilliance of Chinese opera. For over a century, opera and painting have shared a common origin, and the tradition of Chinese opera figure painting has been passed down to this day. As a key exhibition brand of the Zhu Qizhan Art Museum located in Hongkou District, the museum has hosted numerous exhibitions, seminars, and workshops on related themes since the "Painting Makeup" Chinese Opera-themed exhibition in 2005, making the Zhu Qizhan Art Museum an important platform for the study of Chinese opera painting.
At the exhibition, curator Ma Yan (right) is giving a guided tour.
“The Shanghai Mansion in Hongkou was once an important venue for Mei Lanfang’s performances and social activities, and Guan Liang also lived in Hongkou after returning from studying in Japan. This accumulation of regional culture has provided rich nourishment for the Shanghai-style opera painting.” Tong Ke, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the Hongkou District Committee of Shanghai, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the District Culture and Tourism Bureau, said that this exhibition witnesses that “Hongkou has opera”—and these four words are becoming a brand of Hongkou District’s culture.
In fact, in today's Shanghai art scene, there has always been a group of artists who create paintings of opera figures, such as Xie Chunyan, Han Shuo, Zhu Gang, and Chen Jiu. These artists use the art exhibition halls and spaces in Hongkou as their base to engrave each scene on the stage in their hearts. With each stroke of their brush, they seem to be using the roles of male, female, painted face, and clown in the opera to express the warmth and coldness of human relationships.
The works in this exhibition showcase the diverse explorations of opera figure painting in contemporary times. Some artists either focus on pursuing the aesthetic tastes of literati and exploring the essence of brush and ink, or integrate artistic techniques such as meticulous brushwork in modeling, color, texture, and composition, making the "singing," "reciting," "acting," and "fighting" all vividly depicted.
At the exhibition, Xie Chunyan's depictions of famous Shanghai Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera performers were on display.
The 84-year-old painter Xie Chunyan has a wide range of artistic interests and currently serves as the president of the Chinese Opera Figure Painting Research Association. The works exhibited this time are mostly paintings of renowned Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera artists of all ages, including Mei Lanfang, Shang Changrong, Ji Zhenhua, Chen Shaoyun, Shi Yihong, Shen Yili, Li An, Wang Peiyu, and Tian Hui. Most are freehand paintings, unrestrained by details, with flowing ink revealing his temperament and unconventionality, as well as the emotions he expresses.
The exhibited artist Chen Jiu's theatrical paintings reflect the joys and sorrows of life. Through simple and elegant brushstrokes, the paintings move between light and dark, refined and popular styles, revealing not only form but also spirit and artistic conception.
At the exhibition, Chen Jiu's paintings
In his creative work, Ji Ping explores the minimalism and symbolic, stylized forms of expression in traditional Chinese opera performance art, and considers how to use brush and ink to convey emotions and self in performance art. "Traditional opera figure painting has extremely high plasticity and fun, allowing for free use of lines and colors, and unrestrained scribbling. Compared with figure painting, it has a much greater degree of operability."
Exhibition site
At the exhibition, Zhu Gang's paintings
"When I paint opera figures, the ideal I strive for is to express an entire opera through a single painting. Painting is static, while opera performance is a process, a dynamic one. The challenge for a painter is to extract static moments from the dynamic, while also conveying the essence of the movement, and ultimately revealing the development and essence of the entire play," said artist Zhu Gang.
At the exhibition, Yu Qiping's paintings
At the exhibition, Bai Ying's paintings
Painter Yu Qiping possesses a profound foundation in traditional techniques and excels at constructing tranquil and elegant scenes. His opera figure paintings possess a unique and refined beauty. Bai Ying, a professor at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, exhibited opera figure paintings in this exhibition, which are colored with pencil sketches and have a more lively beauty compared to her previous works. Painter Gu Cunyan's paintings particularly emphasize the naturalness of brush and ink, with a strong literati atmosphere. In addition to his own opera paintings, he also exhibited his works that copied the style of Guan Liang. Painter Xu Xufeng uses meticulous brushwork and focuses on creating the atmosphere of the painting.
At the exhibition, Gu Cunyan's paintings
Xu Xufeng's works at the exhibition
According to curator Ma Yan, the "Waiting for the Stage – Chinese Opera Painting Themed Exhibition" is based on historical accumulation, features Shanghai-style culture, and combines tradition and modernity to promote the continuous development of Chinese opera painting art from multiple dimensions. During the exhibition, the museum will also hold a series of opera workshops and seminars, as well as public education activities.
This exhibition is guided by the Hongkou District Culture and Tourism Bureau of Shanghai, co-organized by the Zhu Qizhan Art Museum and the Chinese Opera Figure Painting Research Association, and supported by the Hong Yimei and Mei Lanfang Art Communication Shanghai Base. Chen Xiaojie, Deputy District Mayor of Hongkou District People's Government of Shanghai, Chen Xiejun, former Director of the Shanghai Museum, Shi Yihong, a first-class actor of the Shanghai Peking Opera Company and Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Dramatists Association, and renowned opera actors Shen Yili and Li An attended the opening ceremony. The exhibition will run until January 26, 2026.
