Online show helps art lovers brush up on modern Chinese works

A collaboration between the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Google Arts & Culture is providing art lovers with the chance to brush up on their knowledge of modern Chinese art, thanks to a virtual online show that places iconic Chinese modern artworks at their fingertips.

From works by Xu Beihong, the father of Chinese modern art, to signature portraits by Jin Shangyi, whose oil paintings often fetch tens of millions yuan at auction, the online exhibition launched last week features around 300 pieces from the collections of the Art Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, giving global audiences a comprehensive glimpse into the development of modern art in China.

With technology provided by Google, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, art lovers can zoom into the details of paintings in ultrahigh resolution or immerse themselves in several virtual shows that replicate a stroll around the CAFA art museum.

Fan Di'an, president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, says that it's an inevitable trend for museums to embrace new technology to help spread their artworks to a wider global audience.