The True Record vol 1, issue 1

The True Record vol 1, issue 1

Emerging realist painters

Realist painters began to rise in the early 20th century, with "The True Record" magazine strongly advocating for realist painting. The cover of the magazine's first issue features this new painter. Instead of an easel, a banner with the magazine's title "The True Record" hangs in front of him. The painter, holding a palette and brushes in one hand, leans forward, focusing on touching the character for "painting" (hua) with another brush. The portable stool, paint box, and waterfall in the background indicate he is sketching outdoors. His sun hat, Western-style suit, and scarf (beloved by Parisian bohemians) highlight his Western connections. Such Western-looking painters were common in Japan, but this image would not be familiar to Chinese audiences until the early 1920s.

Unknown

Tang Hongfeng (2018). "Uncanny, or 'The Return of the Old Ghosts'—Mirror Images and Optical Illusions in Modern China." Modern China Studies 25 (2): 116–117.

The True Record

1912

The Humanity and Literary Library of the Guangdong Museum of Art

This image is now in the public domain in China because its term of copyright has expired.

1,080 × 1,563 (300 KB)

Chinese

Painting

The cover of the first issue of the magazine featured a new painter

This painting showcases China's efforts to promote sketching as the foundation of Western-style painting, reflecting the widespread phenomenon in the following decades where painters proudly posed in the field, a popular subject in Chinese art journals and pictorial magazines.

Painting

1,080 × 1,563 (300 KB)