[Photo provided to China Daily]

Uladzimir Prakaptsou, general director of the Belarusian museum, says that after Belarus was merged into the territory of the Russian Empire in the 18th century, many Belarusian artists were nourished by Russian art, and some received training in Moscow or St. Petersburg.

Among the Russian masters featured are Ilya Repin and Valentin Serov, two portrait artists, and Ivan Shiskin and Issac Levitan－both of whom are known for their realistic depiction of Russian landscapes.

Paintings of the four artists from the collection of Moscow's State Tretyakov Gallery were shown at an exhibition on the Peredvizhniki group of artists, at the National Museum of China in 2015.

Their influence on Belarusian painters is examined in the show through the works of Ivan Khrustsky, a still life master, and Stanislau Zhukousky, an outstanding painter of landscapes.

Belarusian artworks of the second half of 20th century constitute the bulk of the treasure trove of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus and number more than 15,000, says general director Prakaptsou.

He says the current exhibition features representative artists who established the national art school of painting in Belarus at the time.