The ongoing exhibition, Voice of the Volga River, at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, displays oil paintings by Russian artists of the 20th century. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The National Art Museum of China is displaying 100 works at an exhibition to show how modern artists revived and interpreted a painting legacy. Lin Qi reports.

Liu Xun (1929-2007) had a productive art career that lasted some six decades, covering lithography, traditional Chinese New Year paintings, comics, ink-brush and oil paintings. But he also collected art extensively. Two years before he died, Liu donated 1,783 artworks to the National Art Museum of China in Beijing.

The donation included his own works and fine paintings and folk art by artists from home and abroad. Among the highlights were 108 Russian canvases from the 20th century.

The museum is now displaying a selection of 90 pieces from this Russian art collection at an ongoing exhibition, Voice of the Volga River, showing how modern artists revived and interpreted the legacy of Russian painting.