1748 painting of Dresden, Germany by Bernardo Bellotto. Photos Provided to China Daily

As the first major international exhibition at the newly renovated and expanded National Museum of China, The Art of the Enlightenment attracted about 500,000 visitors during its run from April 2, 2011 to March 31 this year.

The ambitious show was the result of cooperation between the Berlin State Museums, Dresden State Art Collections and the Bavarian State Painting Collections in Munich.

It provided nearly 600 exhibits in a total display area of 2,700 square meters in the museum, a landmark on the east side of Tiananmen Square.

Organizers said the exhibition featured artworks that best exemplify the great ideas of the Enlightenment, its influence on fine arts and its history of artistic revolutions stretching from the 18th century up to the present day.

It was the result of the 2010 Sino-German Communique on the Comprehensive Advancement of the Strategic Partnership signed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing.

The exhibition had a grand opening under the joint patronage of Chinese President Hu Jintao and Germany's Federal President Christian Wulff.

Core themes in The Art of the Enlightenment were covered in nine separate chapters:

Prologue: Court life in the Age of the Enlightenment explored the world of Baroque palaces and the enlightened nobility by presenting court art from the 18th century.

The Perspectives of Knowledge chapter told of the birth of modern sciences and the immense influence on artistic creation they were to have.

The Birth of History exhibit highlighted the new historical consciousness of the 18th century.

The Enthusiasm for Antiquity show displayed the classicism or the romanticism of ruins and the history of peoples that became a worthy subject for art.

Near and Far focused on the attraction of distant epochs and cultures and their aesthetic impacts on European art.

China was one of the exotic idealized worlds that inspired many artists, writers and philosophers as a projection of an enlightened state and a counterpoint to Europe.

Love and Sensibility illustrated how the virtue of feeling complemented the socially critical tendencies of the age.

The Back to Nature chapter brought to life the dream of a new society.

It showed the viewers how Rousseau's famous postulation applied to humankind's nature and impacted the educational ideals and moral perceptions of the time.

The section entitled Shadows lifted the veil on the Enlightenment's interest in the human psyche and its emotional depths.

Emancipation and the Public Sphere depicted the Enlightenment as the epoch that spawned a kind of public life that engaged the individual.

The exhibition's epilogue, entitled The Revolution of Art, threw the spotlight on the art of the present day and investigated the legacy of Enlightenment ideas in art.

The grand exhibition was coupled with a series of intercultural, interdisciplinary dialogs jointly designed by a group of German and Chinese experts.

The program had five blocks of dialogs that continued for the 13-month duration of the exhibition, with each offering a public lecture and a panel discussion.

At intervals of around two months, Chinese and European scholars, artists and youths engaged in lively discussions at various venues including the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the National Museum of China, exchanging ideas on the philosophical, social and artistic aspects of Enlightenment.

"Looking at the history of humankind, this event gave viewers an opportunity to experience different civilizations, and for China and Germany to learn from one another and to jointly achieve greater success," said National Museum of China director Lu Zhangshen at the exhibition's opening.

zhulinyong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/25/2012 page12)