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（素描）. Sometimes in his local(当地的) neighborhood（街区）,or when the whim（一时的兴致）takes him far beyond the city limits（界限，限制）.For Wang，painting is more than just a hobby.It’s been a way of life ever since he can remember. Showing an intense（强烈的） interest in art from a very young age, he developed into one of the most prestigious（声望很高的）artists in all China Today he integrates（结合）many elements of western art to create a distinctive（与众不同的）style all his own. From portrayals（描画）of pandas, to the taming（驯服）of tigers，to delightful pictures of peaches，the result sees Wang‘s canvases（一块油画布）frequent best sellers in many galleries（美术馆，画廊）today.

[WANG TALKS ABOUT PEACH（桃子）]

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From the founding day of the People’s Republic of China, the portrait（肖像） of Chairman Mao has been hung on Tian An Men. It is one of modern China’s most famous icons（画像）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（大的）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 mastersin giant（巨大的）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（发芽的，发育的）artist，though it brought no fame, nor riches. In addition to the work being highly tedious（单调乏味的）and very very tough（艰苦的）.

[WANG TALKS ABOUT PORTRAIT PAINTING]

As time ticked by, Wang in his 60s was no longer able to climb up and down wooden brackets（突出于墙壁的托架）effortlessly（容易地）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（伟人）of the Middle Kingdom appeared on his canvas.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（继承）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.”

画画要用生命去画，没有生命就没有艺术。

(英语点津Celene编辑）