43 oil paintings of prominent historical figures unveiled in Changsha
2022-10-10
This year marks the 111th anniversary of the Revolution of 1911. The “Oil Painting Portrait Exhibition of Outstanding Historical Figures of the Revolution of 1911” was co-organized by the Memorial Hall at Huang Xing’s Former Residence and Hunan Academy of Contemporary Oil Painting. On October 8, it was opened in Changsha Meixi Academy Art Museum, where visitors can appreciate 43 oil paintings of 42 pioneers of the Revolution of 1911 created by 43 well-known oil painters from Hunan Province.
On October 10, 1911, the Revolution of 1911 broke out in Wuchang. Within two short months after the victory of Wuchang Uprising, Hunan was the first to respond and other provinces echoed, declaring independence from the Qing government. As the important source of the Revolution of 1911 and birthplace of many leading figures, Hunan has written an important chapter in the history of modern China.
The “Oil Painting Portrait Exhibition of Outstanding Historical Figures of the Revolution of 1911” drew 43 oil painters from Hunan to the creation. The artists poured their admiration for the pioneers of the Revolution of 1911 into the oil paintings and created a number of vivid and highly artistic oil paintings of historical figures of the Revolution of 1911, providing significant historical materials for future generations to study the history of the revolution of 1911.
This exhibition is also a positive exchange and exploration of oil painting portrait art creation in Hunan Province. Unlimited to the reality of general historical photos, the artists tried to break through simple reproduction of photorealistic oil paintings of historical subjects. They adopted the unique oil painting language to shape and express the spirituality of the historical figures of the Revolution of 1911 in rich colors, various poses and impressive brushwork, so as to achieve the high unity between artistic beauty and personal beauty of the characters.
The 43 works displayed in the exhibition boast a variety of artistic languages, with some pursuing the spirit of classical realism, some favoring the tradition of Impressionism and others exploring the abstract expressiveness of modernism as well as the imagery of Chinese painting. The whole exhibition not only showcases various aspects of oil paintings, but also reflects the achievements of oil painting figure creation in Hunan in recent years.
At the opening ceremony, representatives of the descendants of the forefathers of the Revolution of 1911 and some of the artists also jointly presented flowers to the portraits of great figures of the Revolution of 1911 like Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing, Cai E and Song Jiaoren, in memory of their remarkable achievements.
