British illustrative author apes artistic masters with Beijing exhibition

Li Yiman, a children's book critic attending the exhibition, says: "Gorillas under Browne's pen are all about warm stories. We can see he knows the emotional spectrum of children well, and he knows that a child's imagination needs to be carefully protected. I am amazed by his surrealist style."

People are often reminded of Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte's works when they see Browne's illustrations.

Indeed, Browne's work is not merely aimed at children.

"As an artist per se, Browne is highly demanding and has a great attention to detail, despite his wandering imagination," Surina adds. "For example, we can clearly see the hairs of the gorillas in the original pictures.Personally, that attitude is among my favorite of his characteristics."

The British author is renowned for "borrowing" the styles of other established artists and adapting them in an amusing way. A section of the exhibition shows his parodies of many well-known works of the great masters, including Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, Jean-Francois Millet's The Gleaners, and Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory.

The difference is Willy becomes the key focus of these parody pieces.

"It's like walking through a history of fine arts," says Bai Jianjian, a designer who is also attending the exhibition. "I love this way of learning, which feels more engaging and immersive."

And this might be true for every visitor to the exhibition. After all, the whole space has been turned into a miniature "theme park" for people to take pictures and attend on-site mentor-aided illustration workshops.

According to Surina, the exhibition has already visited at least 10 other countries before coming to Beijing and will also tour Shanghai and Shenzhen.

"Our country's market for children's books is growing rapidly," she explains. "Only the real classics stand out, so, in recent years, mediocre works have been fading away.

"I believe that a precious collection of works such as this, which shows Browne's lifetime of devotion, will become one of those classics that will stand the test of time."