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Pictures of an Exhibition China and the Enlightenment

December 5, 2011

The Age of Enlightenment – with its greatest minds, from Rousseau and Leibniz to Kant and Voltaire - is considered the dawn of the modern era.

Michael Eissenhauer, director general of the National Museums in Berlin, in front of the centerpiece of the exhibition: "Heinrike Dannecker" by Gottlieb Schick

It marked a turning point in Europe's cultural history, when the dominance of religion and absolutism began to wane, paving the way for education and democracy.

The National Museum of China in Beijing

These ideas revolutionized the Western world, but how can their legacy be translated in a non-European, authoritarian country today?

In April 2011, the new National Museum of China on Tiananmen Square in Beijing opened the largest exhibition on the art of the European Enlightenment to ever be hosted in Asia. It was the high point of a cultural exchange between the German and Chinese governments, bringing together some 450 works from collections in Berlin, Dresden and Munich.

Modern art, made in China: the 798 Art District in Beijing
Art professor Liu Shangying with students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing

Yet the landmark exhibition, funded by Germany's Foreign Office, was overshadowed by politics. The Chinese leadership barred unwanted guests from entering the country to attend, and as soon as the exhibition had opened, the country's most prominent artist, Ai Weiwei, was arrested without charge.

The National Museum of China: a place of Enlightenment? Visitors look at paintings by Caspar David Friedrich

The two-part documentary, "Pictures of an Exhibition," tells the story behind this ambitious project – and the debacle it led to. It brings together German and Chinese curators, critics, art historians and exhibition visitors. Representatives of the Beijing art scene also talk about the significance of art in modern-day China, and why an official cultural exchange does not necessarily lead to a real cross-cultural dialogue.

The exhibition in Beijing is on show through March 31, 2012.

Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1:

DW-TV EUROPE/AFRICA

WED 07.12.2011 - 18:30 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 06:30 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 12:30 UTC

Berlin UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4

DW-TV NORTH AMERICA

WED 07.12.2011 - 20:30 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 12:30 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 00:30 UTC

San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

DW-TV LATIN AMERICA

WED 07.12.2011 - 20:30 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 04:30 UTC

Caracas UTC -4,5 | La Paz UTC -4 | Buenos Aires UTC -3

DW-TV ARABIA

THU 08.12.2011 - 03:30 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 09:00 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 13:00 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 01:00 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 06:30 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 11:00 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 14:30 UTC

Algiers UTC +1 | Cairo UTC +2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW-TV ASIA

WED 07.12.2011 - 18:30 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 06:30 UTC

Delhi UTC +5,5 | Jakarta UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8

DW-TV ASIA+

WED 07.12.2011 - 19:00 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 13:00 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 17:00 UTC

THU 08.12.2011 - 20:30 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 06:30 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 14:30 UTC

FRI 09.12.2011 - 21:30 UTC

Delhi UTC +5,5 | Jakarta UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8

Part 2:

DW-TV EUROPE/AFRICA

WED 14.12.2011 - 18:30 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 06:30 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 12:30 UTC

Berlin UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4

DW-TV NORTH AMERICA

WED 14.12.2011 - 20:30 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 12:30 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 00:30 UTC

San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

DW-TV LATIN AMERICA

WED 14.12.2011 - 20:30 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 04:30 UTC

Caracas UTC -4,5 | La Paz UTC -4 | Buenos Aires UTC -3

DW-TV ARABIA

THU 15.12.2011 - 03:30 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 09:00 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 13:00 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 01:00 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 06:30 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 11:00 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 14:30 UTC

Algiers UTC +1 | Cairo UTC +2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW-TV ASIA

WED 14.12.2011 - 18:30 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 06:30 UTC

Delhi UTC +5,5 | Jakarta UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8

DW-TV ASIA+

WED 14.12.2011 - 19:00 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 13:00 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 17:00 UTC

THU 15.12.2011 - 20:30 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 06:30 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 14:30 UTC

FRI 16.12.2011 - 21:30 UTC

Delhi UTC +5,5 | Jakarta UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8

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