Refreshing look

When Li Hu (1919-75) held a graduation exhibition in Chongqing in 1946, Xu Beihong, the modern master and one of Li's teachers, said Li had achieved great success in integrating Western skills to create Chinese paintings. Li entered art college at a time of conflict. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) broke out, forcing many to move southward in China. Chongqing became a hub at the time, and it was where Li completed his studies under the guidance of several important figures of modern Chinese art. Li adopted figurative brushwork and vibrant colors to depict people's life during wartime. His delicate treatment of light and shadow rendered his paintings a three-dimensional effect. An exhibition at Tsinghua University Art Museum in Beijing, through to Aug 20, shows more than 150 works of Li's that review his efforts to refresh the look of Chinese painting.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays.1 Tsinghua Campus, Haidian district, Beijing. 010-6278-1012.