At beijingkids we’re always keen to let you know about opportunities to share quality art with your kids, whether it’s contemporary work or celebrated classics. After all, there’s more to life than smartphones and shopping malls. So an exhibition of work by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci and his circle should be a definite recommendation. Only 17 works worldwide are confidently attributed to the hand of Leonardo, and to have two of them in Beijing would be a real coup.

But there’s a catch. The exhibition, at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) until December 8, has been accused of presenting fakes. This criticism may be accused of cultural snobbery from westerners (and your correspondent had a previous run-in with CAFA when I wrote a piece for our sister publication The Beijinger, in which I not-entirely-frivolously described a work on display there by a CAFA professor as “the worst painting in the world ever.”) However the claims have come from Chinese art experts, and have been reported by state publications China Daily and Global Times.

At the heart of the controversy is Nicola Barbatelli, director of the Museo delle Antiche Genti di Lucania, who claimed to have discovered a lost Leonardo self-portrait, known as the “Lucan Portrait”. Who painted it and whom it represents are still hotly debated in the art world, though supporters point to fingerprint evidence and what may be Leonardo’s writing on the back. The Lucan Portrait is one of the works exhibited, as is a Mary Magdalene generally accepted as the work of Leonardo and one of his students.

A painting of Mary Magdalene, by Leonardo da Vinci and a pupil

However You Yong, an influential art blogger, took to Weibo to blast the quality and authenticity of the other works on display.

“This exhibition is a blatant mockery of Da Vinci, his times, and the general public. The showpieces fail to convincingly support the theme, and they are a revelry of fake paintings and imitations,” he said.

The response from CAFA was measured and careful.

“Controversies surrounding epic paintings are not rare in the world. For example, industry insiders are still bickering about who is the real painter of the Song Dynasty landscape scroll, A Thousand Lis of Mountains and Rivers,” Zhang Zikang, director of the CAFA Art Museum, told China Daily. “In recent years, studies on Da Vinci in Italy and other places in the world have been revolving around his great artistic genius. However, after I viewed the exhibition, what impressed me was that Da Vinci is a great artist, but not a great teacher, as his paintings are far better than his students’. This discovery affords modern education a salutary lesson,” Zhang commented.

If you want to judge for yourself, then admission to the gallery is a very reasonable RMB 15 (RMB 10 concessions), children under 120cm are free, and there are several other exhibitions currently on display.

Leonardo and His Outstanding Circle, till Dec 8

All ages. RMB 15 (RMB 10 concessions, free under 120cm). Tuesday-Sunday, 9.30am-5.30pm (last ticket sale 5pm). CAFA Art Museum. No. 8 Hua Jia Di Nan Street, Chaoyang District. (6477 1575) www.cafamuseum.org/en. 朝阳区花家地南街8号.

Photos: Nico Barbatelli via Wikimedia Commons, chinadaily.com.cn

A mindblowing exhibition by one of the world’s leading contemporary artists at a Chaoyang art gallery offers a chance for even the youngest kids to be dazzled by the power of art.

Olafur Eliasson, born in Denmark to an Icelandic family, was once a champion breakdancer, but now uses light, shadow, and water to create extraordinary, immersive installations. His exhibition at the Red Brick Art Museum is called The unspeakable openness of things, and brings together works from the last decade with a new creation especially for this show.

The unspeakable openness of things

Tickets cost a hefty RMB 120 for adults (RMB 160 on holidays, RMB 90 for children), but kids under 1.2m are free. Once inside you’re greeted by the mesmerizing title piece of the exhibition. “The unspeakable openness of things” is a huge semi-circle of light. A mirrored ceiling completes the circle, and makes the space seem vast. Looking up to your distant, upside-down reflection, illuminated by the orange glow of something resembling a planetary ring, is a dizzying experience.

Map for unthought thoughts

Mirrors also create a sense of space in “Map for unthought thoughts”, where patterns of shadows form a lattice against which the visitors’ own shadows become monstrously huge as they approach the light source. Hold onto your little ones though – I saw one disoriented toddler run straight into the mirror, thinking it was the other half of the room.

Rainbow Assembly

“Rainbow Assembly” is a fine mist of water which visitors can walk through, seeing rainbows from both inside and outside the circle. And be prepared to get wet too at “Water pendulum,” one of the simplest but most striking works. In a darkened room, a hose spurts water, the flow causing it to sway erratically. A strobe light flashes to capture the patterns of the falling water. At first we held back respectfully, but then realized the visitor is welcome to enter the work, and dance with the droplets.

The delicate dance of the Water pendulum

It can be hard to get kids excited about visiting an art gallery to stare at oil paintings, but this is one exhibition where children can become part of the art, and share the wonder with their parents.

The unspeakable openness of things, Mar 25-Aug 12 2018
All ages. RMB 120 (adults), RMB 90 (children), free under 1.2m. 10am-5.30pm Tues-Sun (last entry 5pm). Red Brick Art Museum, Shunbailu, Hegezhuang Village, Cuigezhuang Township, Chaoyang District. 朝阳区中国北京市朝阳区崔各庄乡何各庄村. (Tel: +86 10 84576669 – 8800, E-mail: pr@redbrickartmuseum.org).

Photos: Uni You, except Rainbow Assembly, Water Pendulum, by Andrew Killeen

Our previous family samplings of Beijing’s artistic offerings have been in the hip and funky/commercialized tourist areas of 798 and Caochangdi. So I wondered how my kids would respond to the more formal setting of the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC).

The museum is situated on Wusi Dajie in Dongcheng District, a short walk west from Dongsi subway station on lines 5 and 6. Entrance is free, but you need to show your passport. By law you should of course have this with you at all times, but just in case the helpful ticket office staff will accept a scan of the appropriate page of the document on your phone.

The first hall we entered bore the unpromising title of “Beautiful Nature.” No western artist could get away with such a simple agenda; they’d have to dress it up with gobbledygook like “My work explores the relationship between acquired synesthesia and midlife subcultures.” (You can create your own arty nonsense at this site, though the language is not suitable for kids, at least if you’re British and know what that “b word” means…) The actual paintings however were indeed beautiful, discovering intricate form and bright color in the flora and landscapes of China.

The boys choose their favorite painting in each room

Over in the west wing the works were less impressive. Although skillfully executed, the dancers and models could have been painted any time since the middle of the twentieth century, the shadows of Picasso and Matisse hanging too heavily.

The first floor’s real prize though was a retrospective of the work of Jiangsu-born artist Yuan Yunsheng. The exhibition represents a range of styles and techniques across a long career, but the most striking works were the ink paintings, bringing modern ideas to a traditional Chinese form.

Joseph’s favorite, perhaps surprisingly, was a monochrome abstract called “National Mourning.” He explained why: “It’s swirly and swirly and swirly, then just when you think it’s out of control it binds together.”

Joseph (8) contemplates Yuan Yunsheng’s “swirly” ink paintings

There were no exhibitions on the second and fourth floors when we visited, so we headed next for the third, which hosts works donated by the Ludwigs, important collectors of twentieth century art. The paintings on display include two very fine Picassos, and some lively, funny works which may be more to children’s tastes generally.

This one reminded us of the cartoon “Adventure TIme”.

On the fifth floor was a collection of Russian art. By this stage my boys were flagging, so we rushed through it, though there were some charming portraits and brightly colored fairy tales among the heavy handed social realism.

This Russian painting would make a good Christmas card

NAMOC is a great choice for a day trip when the AQI is high. Depending on your kids’ tolerance for art galleries, your visit may need to be a short one, but since it’s free, you can always go back to see what you’ve missed.

Photos: Karen Killeen, Andrew Killeen