Post by con's fly is open on May 21, 2006 16:13:47 GMT 7
Chinese aghast that famous Mao portrait on the block
Last Updated Fri, 19 May 2006 13:14:16 EDT
CBC Arts
A famous portrait of Mao Zedong, China's first communist leader, is to go on the auction block June 3.
This oil portrait of former chairman Mao Zedong, which is owned by a Chinese American, is expected to sell for one million to 1.2 million yuan ($140,000 to $170,000). (EyePress/Associate Press)
The painting by Zhang Zhenshi, an artist chosen by the authorities in 1950 to produce images of the chairman, is the model for the huge poster of Mao that hangs in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
News that the portrait will be sold, and that buyers from outside of China could bid on it, has shocked mainland Chinese.
Mao is still revered, despite the excesses of his regime, and internet chat rooms in China are being flooded with comments about the sale. The portrait should be kept in a national museum, said one posting at sohu.com.
The painting, which measures 91 by 68.5 cm, depicts Mao with a sombre expression and wearing his trademark grey suit. Thousands of poster copies were sent around the country.
Owned by a Chinese American, the portrait is expected to sell for one million to 1.2 million yuan ($140,000 to $170,000), China Daily reported on Friday.
Potential buyers will be able to view the portrait from May 31 to June 2 and bidding will open on June 3 at Huachen Auctions in Beijing. The sale will be open to both Chinese and foreigners, said an official of Huachen.
China is awash with money from newly rich entrepreneurs and they have been bidding up prices at art auctions around the world. Foreigners are also increasingly collecting modern Chinese art.
A man who defaced the huge poster of the painting during the 1989 Tiananmen protests spent nine years in jail and has been granted refugee status in Canada.
Zhang also painted portraits of Marx, Lenin and Stalin, as well as other Chinese leaders, such as former premier Zhou Enlai.
He was one of 30 artists invited to paint the Great Helmsman to celebrate the first anniversary of the People's Republic in 1950. Many of his works disappeared after the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. Zhang died in 1992.
Many chat room contributors said the painting was part of Chinese history and objected to the idea that it could be taken out of the country by a foreign buyer.
Last Updated Fri, 19 May 2006 13:14:16 EDT
CBC Arts
A famous portrait of Mao Zedong, China's first communist leader, is to go on the auction block June 3.
This oil portrait of former chairman Mao Zedong, which is owned by a Chinese American, is expected to sell for one million to 1.2 million yuan ($140,000 to $170,000). (EyePress/Associate Press)
The painting by Zhang Zhenshi, an artist chosen by the authorities in 1950 to produce images of the chairman, is the model for the huge poster of Mao that hangs in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
News that the portrait will be sold, and that buyers from outside of China could bid on it, has shocked mainland Chinese.
Mao is still revered, despite the excesses of his regime, and internet chat rooms in China are being flooded with comments about the sale. The portrait should be kept in a national museum, said one posting at sohu.com.
The painting, which measures 91 by 68.5 cm, depicts Mao with a sombre expression and wearing his trademark grey suit. Thousands of poster copies were sent around the country.
Owned by a Chinese American, the portrait is expected to sell for one million to 1.2 million yuan ($140,000 to $170,000), China Daily reported on Friday.
Potential buyers will be able to view the portrait from May 31 to June 2 and bidding will open on June 3 at Huachen Auctions in Beijing. The sale will be open to both Chinese and foreigners, said an official of Huachen.
China is awash with money from newly rich entrepreneurs and they have been bidding up prices at art auctions around the world. Foreigners are also increasingly collecting modern Chinese art.
A man who defaced the huge poster of the painting during the 1989 Tiananmen protests spent nine years in jail and has been granted refugee status in Canada.
Zhang also painted portraits of Marx, Lenin and Stalin, as well as other Chinese leaders, such as former premier Zhou Enlai.
He was one of 30 artists invited to paint the Great Helmsman to celebrate the first anniversary of the People's Republic in 1950. Many of his works disappeared after the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. Zhang died in 1992.
Many chat room contributors said the painting was part of Chinese history and objected to the idea that it could be taken out of the country by a foreign buyer.
