Feeding the frenzy for famous French and world art history

Not many Chinese museums have a collection of world history, Fu says. Decades ago, Chinese art students had to travel abroad to see these masterpieces. "You had to travel from one museum to another to see the original works — the rich textures, colors, and expressions — which was a completely different experience from seeing them printed in textbooks," she recalls.

In 2014, Tix Media brought the groundbreaking exhibition Master of Impressionism: Claude Monet to Shanghai, featuring works from the Paris Marmottan Monet Museum. The exhibition was a great success, receiving more than 350,000 visitors in three months.

Since then, a series of exhibitions featuring historic Western art has taken place, featuring artworks from esteemed museums, such as the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy; the National Gallery London, UK; and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, Spain.

These exhibitions, often consisting of up to 100 artworks featuring a particular section, movement, or period in Western art history, enable Chinese art lovers to get an in-depth understanding of the topics, and play important role in public education on art history, Fu says. At the current exhibition at the Pudong museum, visitors can learn about how Western art evolved, with key turning points highlighted.

"This experience is even better than visiting these artworks in their home institutions," she tells China Daily. "In the real Musee d'Orsay, you will stand before an overwhelmingly large number of artworks, and you might not be able to focus on a particular piece, artist, or style to truly appreciate its beauty."