Anti-Japanese war in the fine arts of China of the XX – beginning of the XXI century

Abstract

This study examines the specifics of the theme of the anti-Japanese war in Chinese art at various stages from the 1930s to the beginning of the XXI century. The key works of graphic artists and painters are selected as the material, which mark the key points of the evolution of the topic under consideration. Images in Chinese art associated with the events of the anti-Japanese War or the "War of Resistance" have been created by artists for more than seven decades, changing and transforming in accordance with political, ideological, socio-cultural and artistic-stylistic factors. This topic is extremely important for the people, since it was she who gave the art of the newly born New China in the XX century a historical dimension, determined the measure of responsibility of Chinese artists to society and partly the aesthetic paradigm of the evolution of the arts. Moreover, it has served and continues to serve as a source of inspiration for new generations of masters of historical painting, especially battle artists. As a result of the analysis and generalization, four stages are distinguished. The first one is connected with the work of wartime graphs, which recorded the most important moments of the confrontation between the two armies and peoples, determining the general realistic orientation in the development of the theme and its iconography. The middle of the century is the time of the establishment of images associated with the anti-Japanese war as the main line in Chinese painting, the appearance of multi-figure subject canvases, including in the battle genre. The last third of the XX century is defined as the period of transition from the glorification of events to the embodiment of the understanding of that war as a national tragedy, as well as the enrichment of romanticized realism with new artistic forms. At the beginning of the new century, artists tended to create large-scale canvases, saturating them with complex symbolic meanings and details. Such changes indicate the continuation of the evolution of the topic under study and its further transformations.