Oil painter Dong Xiwen [Photo provided to China Daily]

He died in 1973.

The retrospective show, on through Jan 8, exhibits many drafts of Dong's large-scale paintings for the first time. It's also the first time that his works collected by different Chinese museums are being displayed together.

Art critic Wan Shaojun says that it isn't fair to the artist that people see his paintings more from a political view rather than for art itself.

"He was so disciplined that he felt he had a mission to paint for the country and its people. Even when he was ill, he was still passionate about art for the people," says Yuan Yunsheng, a famous painter, who learned from the master.