Wang Qizhi: the man who painted Mao

Round the corner from the Summer Palace in Beijing, lives an old man by the name of Wang Qizhi. Now almost 80, Lao Wang loves to go out and sketch sometimes in his local neighborhood or when the whim takes him – far beyond the city limits.

For Wang painting is more than just a hobby – it’s been a way of life ever since he can remember. Showing an intense interest in art from a very young age, he developed into one of the most prestigious artists in all China.

Today he integrates many elements of western art to create a distinctive style all his own. From portrayals of pandas, to the taming of tigers, to delightful pictures of peaches the result sees Wang’s canvases frequent best sellers in many galleries today.

[WANG TALKS ABOUT PEACH]

From the founding day of the People’s Republic of China, the portrait of Chairman Mao has been hung on TianAnMen. It is one of modern China’s most famous icons and needs to be renewed every year. But in the first several years, there was no standard for it because no one in China had any experience painting massive portraits.

It wasn’t until the mid 1950s that the image of Mao finally was settled and the hero behind this is our Wang one of the few masters in giant portrait painting to be found in China. At that time he had just graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

It was 1951, and the responsibility was truly an honor for any young budding artist though it brought no fame, nor riches. In addition to the work being highly tedious and very, very tough.

[WANG TALKS ABOUT PORTRAIT PAINTING]

As time ticked by, Wang in his 60s was no longer able to climb up and down wooden brackets effortlessly every day and so he retired. However, his work painting Chinese leaders didn’t stop. Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin… one after the other these modern legends of the Middle Kingdom appeared on his canvas. Elsewhere, his landscapes “Jing Gang Shan” and “The Scene of Yan’an” created in the 1970s now hang inside the Great Hall of the People the heart of Chinese politics

Actually, Wang’s father Wang Shikuo was also an artist perhaps even more famous than Wang Qizhi himself. This passion for art the junior Wang inherited and most of all, he took from his father the spirit to devote one’s whole life to a love of art。 As his father said, “If you paint with passion, the art will have life”