A Study Of Shanghainese Pastels

As the birthplace of Chinese pastel, Shanghai has, to a certain extent, witnessed the rise and fall of the art of Chinese pastel for nearly a century. Despite the fact that the art of Shanghainese pastel is an integral part of modern Chinese art history, but for various reasons, its development and history have seldom been systematically and thoroughly compiled and studied, except for some short articles scattered in exhibition catalogs and a few professional journals.This paper entitled"A Study of Shanghainese Pastels"starts with the introduction of pastel to China by Li Chaoshi from the West in 1919, to the establishment of the Shanghai Pastel Society founded by Lian Yiqing in 1985. It surveys the vast number of Shanghainese pastels that were entered in many major (national) exhibitions. By analyzing its development and history, including some important pastelists and representative works, this paper aims to initiate more studies on this subject.