Unlike other art forms that came from the West, painting already had solid roots in Chinese history before the country adopted the Western style. "Actually, we can say that China just had the soil for the mature seed of Western painting," said art critic Shui Tianzhong, and this, he added, has helped Western oil painting develop into a kind of local art in China.

Former CCAFA President Jin Shangyi is famous for his realistic oil paintings. He combines the Chinese traditional painting method with Western oil painting techniques, lifting Chinese oil painting to a new level. CCAFA Professor Cao Yiqiang discerns European elements in Jin's paintings. "We can see the style of Leonardo da Vinci and Sanzio Raphael in the figure outlines, the technique of Tiziano Vecellio and Diego Velázquez in the coloring and shadowing and Rembrandt in the details," Cao said.

"Undoubtedly, China's realistic oil paintings have a very bright future. We have a growing group of painters of this style and a huge potential market," said Wang Shuang, a professor at Shenyang Normal University. China has its own culture and national conditions and does not necessarily have to follow in the footsteps of other countries, Wang said. "The essence of the realistic style is to show the spirit instead of just copying the physical appearance of the subject. It is just like Chinese traditional paintings, which combine the form and soul together. Chinese oil paintings should draw on this and develop their own characteristics," he added.

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