In November 2018, during the touring exhibition of the 2nd Meta—NING Contemporary Image Art Exhibition at the ALFART Gallery in Barbizon, a historic painters’ village on the southern outskirts of Paris, Chinese humanist photographer Hans Xu (Xu Xuehan) was specially invited by Mr. M. Farat, President of the Jean-François Millet Foundation and Director of the Musée Millet, to visit the former residence of the renowned 19th-century realist painter Jean-François Millet. As a tribute to Millet’s artistic legacy and a gesture of Sino-French cultural exchange, Hans Xu presented the museum with a copy of his bilingual photography monograph, Seize the Moment: From Amsterdam to Dubrovnik.

This photo book showcases Hans Xu’s documentary photography achievements from over 120 days of travel across nine European countries and more than fifty cities and towns. Through the lens of black-and-white imagery, the book captures the profound interplay between reality and history, space and time, offering a poetic and contemplative visual narrative. Millet is celebrated for his empathetic and lyrical depictions of rural laborers, which have left a lasting impact on art history. Similarly, Hans Xu focuses his lens on contemporary urban memory and human conditions with a quiet yet powerful visual language. The spiritual resonance between the two artists—across different mediums and eras—makes this occasion a meaningful "dialogue" between East and West. The presentation of the book not only honors a shared humanistic vision but also enriches the cultural connection between classical painting and contemporary photography.