Rare glimpse of pioneering art

A Half-Naked Woman, oil painting by Li Shutong.

As Master Hongyi he became known internationally for his research of the Buddhist codes. He was also regarded as the 11th forefather of the Vinaya School, a Buddhist sect.

Even so, he never stopped working on his art and his calligraphy was popular among collectors.

Li donated all his oil paintings to the China Central Academy of Fine Arts after becoming a monk, though most were later lost.

So, when A Half-Naked Woman was unearthed in the CAFA Art Museum collection in 2011, it provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the artist, says the curator Wang Huangsheng.

Self-portrait was provided by Tokyo University of Arts, and it is the first time that the paintings have been publicly displayed.

Also on show is a collection of 40 self-portraits by Chinese students who studied Western art at Tokyo University of Arts before 1946.

"These oil paintings present us with the chance to look at those students of Western art in Japan," Wang says.