Mongolian Woman Singing and Dancing

After 1941, Sun Zongwei accompanied Zang Daqian to the Mogao Caves to study and copy the murals. During this period, Sun did a large number of sketches and paintings of the lives of the Mongolian and Tibetan people. He was among the first artists to go to the Mogao Caves to explore the murals. Created during this period, Mongolian Women Singing and Dancing depicts the lives of the Mongolian and Tibetan people in Northwest China. Through Sun’s colorful yet exact brushwork, the painting exhibits the Mongolian people's carefree, contented nature and their customs of singing and dancing. The saturated colors, unbroken curves and complicated garments create a kind of exotic atmosphere in the painting, reflecting the results of the artist's study of the Mogao Caves murals. This painting was highly acclaimed when it was made public in the 1940s, and became a classic piece in the history of Chinese art in the 20th century.