A Brief Comment On Calendar Picture

The advertising pictures used in promoting their commodities by expatriate merchants at the beginning of the last century led to the appearance of calendar pictures, but their results were achieved only after they had been brought more line with the traditional aesthetic taste of the Chinese people and incorporated the characteristics of calendar pictures while the features of folk-customs were emphasized. With the changes in social customs and values as well as in traditional beliefs in 1920s, fashion beauties and modern city life assumed prominent places in calendar pictures. Calendar pictures faded out at the end of 1940s. By looking at their background and development processes, the author takes a systematic analysis of the calendar pictures that have become historic relics on basis of large amount of relevant materials. The author focuses her comments on the pictures' unique styles and their potential influences on modern artist designs and draws to attention the irreplaceable effects of the pictures on the designing of fashion, jewelry, indoor decoration, cosmetics packaging and advertising and points out that art designers can still absorb some useful Chinese elements. In writing this thesis, the author hopes that due importance can be given to the calendar pictures in the modern artistic designing in the field of art.