This exhibition honours the centenary of the birth of China's leading 20th Century artist, Fu Baoshi. Both Fu Baoshi amd the Jindgezhen porcelain, which features in the Ashmolean's concurrent exhibition 1000 Years of Jingdezhen Porcelain, come from the Jiangxi province, Southwest China.

Fu Baoshi worked as an assistant in a porcelain shop in Jiangxi during his teens and used to regularly visit a nearby bookshop, which sold reproductions of paintings by historical masters. This led to his interest in the arts. Known both as a traditional painter and a scholar he died 1965. He was a leading figure in arts administration and one of the most acclaimed painters in the country. Fu's painting style was profoundly influenced by artists of the 17th and 18th centuries, in particular the Individualist and theorist Shi Tao. However, he developed his individual style by using various techniques, such as brown or grey washes overlaid with dry brushwork. Fu's paintings hang alongside his contemporaries, the contrasts between the works demonstrate the innovative use of ink and the development from traditional styles, materials and methods that had been used in the past.