The story appears on

Page A13

March 23, 2017

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Feature » Events and TV

The allure of poster painting in Shanghai

SOME of the best calendar posters produced during the 1910s and the 1930s are on display at the Xinhua Community Cultural Center.

As part of the 2017 Shanghai Citizen Cultural Festival, the exhibition features more than 20 yuefenpai (calendar poster) paintings by artists in Shanghai, such as Zheng Mantuo, Hang Zhiying, Jin Meisheng and Xie Zhiguang.

Yuefenpai painting is an art genre prevalent in Shanghai during the early 20th century. These posters were influenced by Western advertisements.

Artist Zheng perfected a special painting technique known as rub-and-paint, in which carbon was rubbed into the paper to create shadows; and watercolor pigments then were added, resulting in soft, muted colors.

The application of the new skill brought about the realization of the delicate rendering of enticing modern women, making yuefenpai to go beyond a simple marketing mode to become a distinct art genre.

Later, artist Hang began to model his paintings on movie stars, blending Western skills for modern advertising design and cartoon.

The new city girl image of a chubby face, broad shoulders, a slender waist, a plump hip and an ample bosom were preferred in Hang’s yuefenpai paintings. This dramatically changed the perception of a beautiful woman.

Overall, the varied and multi-faceted calendar girl seen in a yuefenpai painting created a series of imaginary female images that catered to common perceptions of being a modern woman in a modernizing China. She was supposed to be open-minded, independent and sexy, and at the same time, brave and loving.

 

Date: Through April 15

Venue: Xinhua Community Cultural Center

Address: 359 Xinhua Rd




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend