On the afternoon of July 20, 2024, the third stop of the exhibition "The Meeting of Chinese and Western Art: Nineteenth-Century Images of Guangdong and Macao in The Context of The Maritime Silk Road," funded by the National Art Fund, opened at the Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. The exhibition was curated by Wang Lan, with Lü Peng serving as the chairman of the academic committee.
After the 19th century, Western painters such as George Chinnery, who resided in Macau, and Chinese painters like Lam Qua from Guangzhou left behind a series of paintings in this region that depicted people, customs, landscapes, and other subjects from the late Qing Dynasty. These works, known as "Western-style paintings," vividly recorded the customs and urban landscapes of Macau, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and other parts of China. Additionally, with the development of maritime trade and advancements in science and technology, cartography became increasingly refined. The maps from both Eastern and Western perspectives reflect the changes along the Pearl River in Macau and Guangdong and offer different views on the world and the ocean.
This exhibition aims to present these Western-style paintings and maps, showcasing the visual imagery of the 19th-century cultural exchange between East and West. It also seeks to rediscover and reclaim the historical and artistic significance of the multicultural heritage of the Guangzhou region, particularly Macau.
