Research on figure drawing instruction during the Republican period:a case study of Central University and Shanghai Art Academy
This study attempts to restore the figure drawing classes at the Art Department of Central University and Shanghai Art Academy during the 1930s by usingiconographic methods to analyze the social context depicted in the images.It explores the educational philosophies,Western painting curriculum,faculty,and figure drawings at both institutions,along with their figure drawing instruction.The study also examines how academic ideas at these two schools influenced their figure drawing education and traces the development of this practice.The findings show some milestone achievements and highlight how sustained efforts established figure drawing instruction as a key component in early art education in China and how they laid a solid foundation for today's Western painting curricula in art institutions.Behind the practice of figure drawing lies the interplay of attitudes shaped by the crosscurrents of old and new ideas in early 20th-century China.The art education at the two schools played a positive role in introducing Western scientific thought,influencing traditional Chinese painting and advancing 20th-century art education.