Xu Beihong: The Horse-Painting Master Who Went from Yixing to the World

Xu Beihong horses are the most famous ink paintings to come out of modern China, instantly recognised by galloping steeds with flying manes and thunderous momentum. Born in Yixing, a county-level city under Wuxi, Xu Beihong (1895-1953) turned the traditional Chinese painting of horses into a global symbol of national spirit. For art lovers and travellers alike, the story behind Xu Beihong horses is the story of China itself in a century of upheaval.

Figure 1. Xu Beihong’s signature ink painting Eight Steeds, blending Chinese brushwork with Western anatomy in galloping momentum

Why Xu Beihong Horses Captivated Modern China

Xu Beihong horses merged the free, expressive brushwork of Chinese ink painting with Western anatomy and light, which he had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The results are horses that feel both calligraphic and physically real, muscles tensed, nostrils flared, charging forward without a trace of stiffness. As China Central Television's art archive explains, works such as Eight Steeds turn eight running horses into an image of an army on the march.

The Story Behind Xu Beihong Horses

In an age of national crisis, Xu Beihong horses carried a message of defiance and hope. Paintings such as Galloping Horse expressed his longing for the country to rise; grand historical canvases like The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains and 500 Warriors of Tianheng used ancient stories to rally a threatened nation. Guangming Daily's retrospective calls him a painter whose life and art became inseparable from the patriotic spirit of his time.

More than horses

Although Xu Beihong horses made him a household name, he was equally accomplished in oil painting, life drawing and portraits. He insisted that every artist begin with the human skeleton and the live model, a discipline that gave his horses their uncanny sense of weight and movement. His studio in Beijing became a gathering point for painters who believed art should engage with the nation's destiny.

Figure 2. Xu Beihong’s Self-Portrait (1922, drawing), revealing his masterly command of sketching

From Yixing to Paris: The Making of a Master

Xu was born in Qitingqiao Town in Yixing to a poor family of painters, and learned poetry, calligraphy and seal-carving from his father. As the Wuxi arts profile notes, he later studied Western painting in France and championed realism as the foundation of all visual art. On his return he became the first president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and chairman of the China Artists Association, training a generation of Chinese artists.

Where to See Xu Beihong Horses Today

Today, Xu Beihong horses hang in major museums across China and are widely reproduced on prints, posters and stamps. In his home region, the Yixing memorial hall displays his paintings, sketches and personal objects, alongside bronzes and photographs that trace his journey from a Jiangnan waterside town to the heart of Chinese modern art. Allow at least an hour to take in the galleries, and look for the smaller horse studies that reveal his working method.

Figure 3. The bronze statue of Xu Beihong in the courtyard of his memorial hall in Qiting, Yixing, with Jiangnan-style exhibition rooms behind

Visiting the Yixing Memorial Hall

Yixing itself is an easy trip from Wuxi or from the Shanghai-Nanjing high-speed rail corridor. In Qiting, the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall and the Beihong Hometown Cultural Park sit quietly by the river, where you can linger over his horse paintings and sketch studies. Pair the visit with a stop in nearby Ding Shu Town, home of the Yixing teapot, to complete a day of Wuxi-region art and craft.

These galloping steeds remain beloved because they are more than animals on paper: they are courage set free. From a small town by Lake Taihu to galleries across the world, the brushwork of this Yixing master has crossed every border, a timeless emblem of Eastern art reaching toward the modern age.