NANCHANG, June 29 (Xinhua) -- In his final masterpiece, The Feast of the Gods, Italian painter Giovanni Bellini placed three pieces of blue-and-white porcelain at the center of the composition as decorative highlights.
According to Chinese historian Yan Chongnian, the vessel held by a woman in the painting bears a remarkable resemblance to blue-and-white porcelain excavated from the imperial kiln site in Jingdezhen, in east China's Jiangxi Province. "While adorning mythical scenes of feasting, these porcelain pieces serve as a testament to historical exchanges between civilizations," said Weng Yanjun, head of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute.
Bellini's work is not an isolated case. As still-life painting gained popularity and porcelain imports surged in Europe, blue-and-white porcelain became a recurring motif in Western oil paintings, reflecting its profound influence on European society.
Jingdezhen, known as China's porcelain capital, has a porcelain-making history spanning more than 1,700 years and its global impact and reach into the art world remains strong today.
Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), ceramics crafted in Jingdezhen have been exported to Central Asia, West Asia, Europe and Africa. "Chinese porcelain carries the memories of civilizations and embodies mutual learning. It has benefited from the global economy while contributing to world culture," said Ge Chengyong, a professor at the China Academy of Cultural Heritage.
The cultural exchanges were reciprocal: while porcelain enriched Western oil painting, Chinese ceramics also gained artistic inspiration from the West.
Mythological themes became a popular choice for exported Chinese porcelain in the mid-18th century, according to Li Shiqi, assistant researcher of the Jiangxi Provincial Academy of Culture and Tourism.
Li added that the combination serves as an aesthetic and creative breakthrough, promoting mutual understanding and deeper cultural exchanges.
Today, artists are blending the rich techniques of oil painting with the distinctive pigments of ceramic art. Wang Yantian, a young ceramic artist based in Jingdezhen, is one of them.
"The integration enriches artistic expression, promotes cultural inheritance and exchanges, and assists market and industry development," said Wang, noting that realistic oil painting elements, techniques and themes have been widely integrated into contemporary enamel porcelain paintings.
The integration also inspires international artists. David Reid, a 71-year-old Australian artist who has drawn for over four decades, has been on a global artistic journey. Driven by a passion for ceramics, he arrived in Jingdezhen in 2018.
From abstraction to Eastern aesthetics, the interplay of Eastern and Western cultures comes alive at his fingertips. "Here I painted ink paintings, oil paintings and ceramics. Jingdezhen constantly sparks my inspiration to fuse Chinese elements with Western modernism," said Reid.
Camille Kami from France recalls her astonishment after arriving in Jingdezhen, wondering how a city could specialize in a single industry for a millennium. "I appreciate the traditional craftsmanship of Jingdezhen and the skilled artisans in the city."
With a background in ceramics education spanning France, Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands, she experienced an unexpected reluctance to leave Jingdezhen and ultimately chose to live in the city.
"For the kiln fire to burn bright, one must add fuel; for friendship to deepen, one must stay in touch," said Chen Kelong, Jingdezhen's Party chief. "We will empower the ceramic industry with creativity and innovation and build a platform for international cultural exchanges."
Chen noted that Jingdezhen has established partnership ties with over 180 cities in more than 70 countries. Artists and ceramists from over 50 countries and regions have flocked to the city to create and work. ■
