The Man Who Painted Mao(2)

"Our painters in that group perhaps couldn't be regarded as real artists at the time since we were not allowed to sign our names on any of the portraits we produced," Shen told the Global Times. "And all of our finished works were strictly examined by our leader, and later, they were sold in batches by factories, mines, schools and other government authorities."

To this day, Shen, now 74 years old, still considers what he did very honorable work. He emphasized to the Global Times that only the most outstanding graduates from professional art institutions were asked to paint Mao's image.

"Because of my exemplary academic record, my teacher at Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts recommended me after I graduated," Shen said.

But Shen also admitted that he initially underestimated the work, which he said was very different from any of the portraits that he studied at art school. "Although there was a standard photo that we copied from, what many of us painted at first looked nothing like him," Shen said. "It took a year for me to get used to the work, which was much faster than other painters in the group."

Shen and the other five members of the Lead Portrait Group worked in a small studio at the Shanghai Culture Square on Yongjia Road.

"On the eve of each National Day, we were transferred to People's Square to draw huge standard portraits of Mao to replace the previous year's one. The largest size we made at that time was 9 meters high," Shen said.

During the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), as the personality cult surrounding Chairman Mao intensified, the Lead Portrait Group's workload increased. Some of Shen's colleagues from other departments at SADC were transferred to his group to help them produce a relentless stream of Mao portraits.

In addition to portraits of Mao, Shen also portrayed the likenesses of figures as varied as Marx, Lenin, Engels and Sun Yat-sen.

"Of course, the portraits of Chairman Mao always hold a special emotional significance for me," Shen said. "When I was young, copies of Mao's portrait were hung not only in every workplace, but also in the bedrooms and dining rooms of every family's household."

One of Shen's proudest moments was when he was still in high school, and his teacher chose a Mao portrait that he had painted to hang on the front wall of the classroom.

"Although my talent was recognized early on, I never expected that I would one day do it for a living," Shen said.

Although he has been retired for many years, Shen continues to paint portraits of Mao from various time periods and is now very confident in his ability to depict Mao's likeness.

"The key is his eyes," Shen remarked, adding that they are the most distinctive and elusive features of Mao's face. "They can show his temperament as a national leader, but also his kindness."

Shen's Mao portraits that he painted after retiring are currently being exhibited at Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, a gallery in the capital's 798 Art Zone. Shen's son, Shen Weiqun, told us that he is negotiating the exhibition's next stop in Shanghai.