During the early twentieth century, increasing numbers of Chinese students travelled to France to pursue artistic education. Among the institutions that received these students, the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris has attracted substantial scholarly attention, while the contribution of the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon has been investigated less extensively. In 1921, the Franco-Chinese Institute of Lyon was established, serving as a bridge that enabled eight Chinese female students to receive training at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. Some of these women went on to further their studies in Paris after completing their studies there. This article examines the role of the school in shaping the aesthetic development of these eight Chinese female artists by analysing their admission mechanisms, teaching characteristics, and individual case studies. Drawing upon student files, institutional records, academic evaluations, and correspondence, the article examines the technical instruction and artistic environment encountered by Chinese women in Lyon. It seeks to correct the disproportionate emphasis on Paris in existing accounts while distinguishing what the available documentary evidence can establish from questions requiring further archival investigation. It aims to re-evaluate the contributions of this institution of artistic education to the development of Chinese female artists and art education in the first half of the twentieth century.
