Another key piece showcasing the new tradition is Egrets, an ink-and-color-on-paper painting by Lin Fengmian, who studied arts in the 1920s. The emotive qualities of Lin's work are often attributed to the influence of European masters such as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Georges Rouault. But Lin painted this piece in a square format popular in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Emanating serenity and poetic melancholy, the work was rendered with rapid and smooth brushworks, lending a heightened sense of animation to the six creatures.

After his stint in Europe, Lin returned to China in 1925, becoming a prominent educator devoted to promoting the synthesis of the best of both Western and Eastern art.

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