Brief information on Xu Beihong Memorial Hall  

Step off the busier tourist trails and discover some of Beijing’s lesser known sites. The Xu Beihong Memorial Hall may sound like yet another Ming prince’s flashy house but it is actually an art gallery devoted to one of China’s foremost painters of the 20th century, Xu Beihong. The memorial hall, opened in 1983, is not situated on the actual site of his former residence. In fact, his home, and the original museum of his work, was demolished in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution. The hall is set back off the road, a grey-green mix of modern and ancient architecture with a statue of the artist, palette in hand, situated at the end of the small gated forecourt. After the noisy crowds of other tourist sites, the hush of the art gallery is a welcome relief.
 

Xu Beihong grew up painting beside his father, a self taught artist who was not very successful in his chosen profession. Xu Beihong was fascinated by western techniques, studying for a prolonged period in Europe. He rejected the modernist movement in western art and devoted his European studies to nineteenth century romanticism and realism instead. Xu also helped to popularize Chinese art in Europe by holding many exhibitions there.
 

However, he was also a staunch supporter of his native art and, more importantly for his career, of his people. The seal he used on his paintings bore the inscription ‘Poor Knight-Errant of South China’, pointing to his identification with the common people. Thus, he became an important painter under the rise of Mao Zedong, becoming so close to the party’s leadership that he was present on the platform with Mao Zedong when the latter announced the birth of the P.R.C. in 1949. His large scale oil paintings (Waiting for Our Leader [1931-3] and Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Warriors [1928-30]), which were inspired by western Classical mythological and historical masterpieces, used Chinese historical themes to comment upon contemporary politics. While these large scale fancies are impressive, his talents were better suited to smaller realist portraiture and landscape. His famous oil on canvas Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains (1940), the draft of which was hidden in a Singaporean well during WW2, is an impressively exuberant work but appears somewhat cartoonish in effect.   
 

The memorial hall also houses some of the artist’s famous ink galloping horse paintings, a variety more traditional ink studies of nature, calligraphy, and many sketches, among which can be found portraits of Gandhi (1940) and Mao Zedong (1950). Even in many of Xu Beihong’s more traditional works, visitors can see different, experimental elements as well as the use of western techniques, particularly in regards to the human form. Some of his traditional ink paintings have an almost cinematic quality in their exploration of light and shade. One such painting, Shades of Autumn (1938), features the grotesque touch of a large fly on a branch. The name of the piece encourages the visitor to imagine the spindly branches of the tree rustling in the wind and the buzzing of the fly. Another, Spring Rain on the Lijiang River (1937), uses generous splashes of ink to portray expressively the wet weather falling upon the shoulders of the lone fisherman steering his boat.  
 

The memorial hall houses small exhibitions of other artists’ works. One room also features photographs from Xu Beihong’s life and career, including photos of the original memorial hall. These surround a small reconstruction of the artist’s studio, a simple and contemplative set up, which gives visitors an insight into Xu’s working life.
 

The Xu Beihong Memorial Hall, situated at 53 Xinjiekou Beidajie, Xicheng District, is easily reached by subway. Take Line 2 to Jishuitan station and then, take exit A. Once out

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Xu Beihong Memorial Hall if you plan to visit Xu Beihong Memorial Hall and have language problems.

   

Chinese Pinyin: Xu Bei Hong Ji Nian Guan
Opening Times: 9:00 - 21:00
Address: No.53 Beidajie Street, Xin Jie Kou, Xi Cheng District