Xu Beihong, also known as Ju Péon, was a Chinese painter, primarily known for his Chinese ink paintings. He was one of the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a modern China at the beginning of the 20th century. He was also regarded as one of the first to create monumental oil paintings with epic Chinese themes—a show of his high proficiency in an essential Western art technique. He was one of the four pioneers of Chinese modern art who earned the title of "The Four Great Academy Presidents."
徐悲鸿，原名徐寿康，是一位以水墨画闻名的中国画家。他是第一批在20世纪初提出需要反映现代中国艺术表现形式的中国艺术家之一。他也被认为是最早创作中国史诗主题纪念油画的画家之一，这表明他对西方基本艺术技巧的高度精通。他是中国近现代美术的启蒙者和融合中西的中国现代绘画开创者之一，与颜文梁、林风眠和刘海粟并称“四大校长”。
Today we present something less monumental painted by him. Stroking the Cat was created in 1924, in the last of Xu's four years of study at the famous École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In the year he graduated, he was in an extremely creative state of mind. In this painting, Xu presented himself and his wife Jiang Biwei (also an artist). They were both very fond of cats. Xu had cats throughout his life and featured them in a number of paintings that he produced.
今天我们展示一幅不是那么出名的作品。《抚猫人像》创作于1924年，是徐悲鸿在著名的巴黎美术学院四年进修的最后一年。在他毕业那一年，他正处于一种极富创造力的状态。在这幅画中，徐悲鸿展示了他自己和他的妻子蒋碧薇。他们都非常喜欢猫。徐悲鸿一生都在养猫，他创作的许多画中都有猫咪的身影。
We present today's work thanks to CAFA Art Museum.:)
今天的作品来自中央美术学院美术馆。:)
