These days when you pass by the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, it looks different.
The building is wrapped up in a covering to make it look like it’s set in the grottoes of Dunhuang in Gansu Province.
That’s because the museum is currently holding the Dunhuang Art Exhibition.
Presented by the Art Institute of the Dunhuang Academy, the show features many reproductions of cave paintings and sculptures from the Mogao grottoes, and even of the caves themselves.
Dunhuang was a point on the Silk Road when Buddhism was introduced from India to China. People from the 4th to 14th centuries worked on the grottoes. During that period, people from various dynasties brought their own cultural influences into the area and built more grottoes. This, and the inspiration Indian Buddhism gave to art, make the Dunhuang murals and sculptures a fascinating study of different cultures.
Realizing the importance of protecting and researching the artwork at Dunhuang, a group of artists began the painstaking work of reproducing the murals in the 1940s.
[QUOTE] Ding Shujun, staff member of Dunhuang Academy
In the past, the artists had no lights so they had to use oil lamps. Sometimes they even used a white piece of cloth or mirror to reflect the sunlight into the grottoes during the day. Now when I look at these murals my eyes are always full of tears.
Many artists later got arthritis because it’s damp and cold in the grottoes, and they had to sit there all the time copying the artwork.
Now things are much better. We have new technology to analyze the ingredients of those mineral pigments in the original murals, so we can reproduce them exactly. We will continue to do our reproduction work this way.
[VOICE OVER]
Some of the original art in the caves are fading, so the only way to see them is through these copies that have become very valuable. And many original murals are not shown to the public anymore, which explains why this show has become so popular.
[QUOTE] He Lin, Deputy Director of Public Education Department, NAMOC
On the first day of the Spring Festival, around 5,500 people came to see the exhibition. This is unprecedented since our museum was founded over 40 years ago.
[VOICE OVER]
Although the holiday is over, there is still an average of over 5,000 visitors everyday.
[QUOTE] visitor
This is the cultural heritage of China and of the world. It is very precious. I am so happy to be able to see them. I used to pass by Dunhuang on my travels, but unfortunately I couldn’t pay a visit. This exhibition makes up for that.
[QUOTE] visitor
I like the pictures here very much. I want to go to Dunhuang in the future, to see the murals there.
[VOICE OVER]
Due to the overwhelming response from the public, the National Art Museum of China has extended the Dunhuang Art Exhibition until March 21.
