ABSTRACT
In the early decades of the twentieth century, many Chinese went to France to study and a considerable proportion of them studied art. Under the leadership of Cai Yuanpei, the Ministry of Education established the Sino-French Institute at Lyon in 1920 to enable Chinese students to have better access to French educational institutions. Lyon Art School (l’École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon) provided training to nearly 60 students between the 1920s and the 1940s. Although only a small proportion of those students went on to become significant figures in Chinese art, their experiences and the knowledge they acquired in France constituted a key stage in China’s modernisation of its art. This chapter documents the Lyon and post-Lyon experiences of students whose records are held at Lyon Municipal Library. The determination of the individual artists to learn and acquire new knowledge and skills is very clear, as is the serious commitment to art reforms by the Chinese state, as represented by Cai Yuanpei.
This chapter has primarily three sections. The first deals with the institutions in Lyon that were associated with Chinese art students. The second focuses on female artists and discusses gender as it related to the careers of the artists trained in Lyon. Despite being pioneers in learning and practising European art and their outstanding achievements at Lyon Art School, and in contrast to their male counterparts, the women art students were unable to have a career in art after their return to China. The third traces the trajectories of selected prominent male alumni of Lyon Art School. The discussion touches on their personal achievements as well as their devotion and contribution to art reforms. On the whole, this chapter demonstrates the close connection of Lyon with modern Chinese art history.
