- Zhang Zhenshi
Infobox Artist
bgcolour =
name = Zhang Zhenshi
imagesize = 150px
caption = Zhang Zhenshi's famous portrait of Mao. The original painting stands 91cm high and 68cm wide.cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.famouspictures.org/mag/index.php?title=Mao| title = Famous Pictures Magazine - Mao| format = HTML | publisher = Famous Pictures Magazine| accessdate = 2007-07-19 | last=Lucas, Dean ]
birthname =
birthdate = 1914
location =China
deathdate = death year and age|1992|1914
deathplace =China
nationality = Chinese
field =Painting
training =
movement =
works = Portrait ofMao
patrons =
influenced by =
influenced =
awards =Zhang Zhenshi 张振仕 (1914–1992) was a famous effigy painter and outstanding fine art educator in China. [Cite news|title=Mao Zedong Portrait by Zhang Zhenshi Collected by NMC|author=China's National Museum|url=http://www.nationalmuseum.cn/en/news/news_id_337.jsp|accessdate=2007-01-08] He created an image of
Chairman Mao that has appeared all over the country and has become the most reproduced image of Mao of all time. Cite news|title=Getting the picture, China bans portrait auction|author=Mary-Anne Toy for The Age|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/getting-the-picture-china-bans-portrait-auction/2006/05/30/1148956344973.html|date=May 31, 2006|accessdate=2007-01-08] Chinese artists have called it China's "Mona Lisa ". [Cite news|title=A Mao Portrait on the Block Causes a Stir in Chat Rooms|author=DAVID BARBOZA|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/22/arts/design/22mao.html?ex=1305950400&en=49d6cf3cb856d145&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|date=May 22, 2006|accessdate=2007-01-08]Portrait for power
Mao Zedong was a Chinesecommunist leader who led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War. The 20 year long civil war technically ended when Mao's forces captured all of mainland China on which the CPC established thePeople’s Republic of China onOctober 1 ,1949 inBeijing . Over 30 painters were chosen to create portraits of Chairman Mao for the first anniversary of the revolution in 1950. One of the painters, Mao's favourite, was Zhang Zhenshi. Most of the 30 paintings have since been lost or destroyed but Zhang's image of a solemn Mao dressed in simple grey tunic was reproduced as a poster that was put up everywhere in China. The model for the giant image of Mao that hangs in Tiananmen Square is based on Zhang Zhenshi's painting.The original
On
June 3 ,2006 the original painting was set to go on the auction block. The Beijing Huachen Auction Company, which stated that there would be no location restrictions on the portrait and that the sale would have be open to both Chinese and foreign bidders, was forced to cancel the auction after a huge outcry from the Chinese publicCite news|title=Web fury over Mao portrait sale|author=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5004778.stm|date=Monday, 22 May 2006, 15:20 GMT 16:20 UK |accessdate=2007-01-08] . Mao is still beloved by many Chinese and they feared that a foreign bidder would take the image out of the country. Eventually, a deal was reached with the private Chinese-American owner who agreed to sell the painting to the China's National Museum. The purchase was jointly financed by the museum and the State Administration of Cultural HeritageCite news|title=Chinese museum buys iconic Mao painting|author=CBC Arts|url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/09/29/mao-painting-bought.html|date=Friday, September 29, 2006 10:11 AM ET|accessdate=2007-01-08] . For the auction the painting was valued at $120,000 American dollars but the price actually paid was not disclosed.ources
Links
Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/sheji/sj-zzs.html
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