Liu Wenxi

Liu Wenxi (; October 1933 – 7 July 2019) was a Chinese painter, art educator, and politician. Considered by many critics as the founder of the "Yellow Earth School" of painting, he served as President of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts and Vice Chairman of the China Artists Association. His portrait of Mao Zedong has been printed on the fifth series of the renminbi since 1999.

Early life and education Liu was born in October 1933 in a small village in Shengzhou, Zhejiang, Republic of China. He showed artistic talent from a young age, and aspired to become an artist in elementary school when he first heard of da Vinci, whose name sounds similar to "Wenxi" in Chinese. especially Fang Zengxian and Zhou Changgu, founders of the Zhe style of guohua painting.

Career Upon graduation in 1958, Liu taught at Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, later serving as its president from 1991 to 1997. As a transplant in Shaanxi province, Liu immersed himself in the "Yellow Earth" culture of Northern Shaanxi (Shaanbei), and made about 80 trips to 26 cities and counties in the region. Many of his works were inspired by the earthy culture of Shaanbei.

Works and influence Trained in the socialist-realist style that dominated the early PRC era in Shanghai and Hangzhou, Liu developed a personal style that was influenced by the traditional nianhua aesthetic. His works combine Western perspective projection with a paler and plainer background, and he was considered one of China's most technically competent painters of the socialist-realist style.

Many art critics consider Liu as the founder of the "Yellow Earth School" of painting, pointing to his works since the 1960s, including Four Generations and Chairman Mao and the Shepherd , which were highly influential at the time. However, this is disputed by his detractors, who perceive a lack of cultural depth in his works, and criticize the stagnation or regression of his artistic skills since the 1980s and 1990s.

Liu's portrait of Mao Zedong is universally known in China as it has been featured on the fifth series of the renminbi, China's national currency, since 1999.

Personal life Liu painted the portrait Mao Zedong thousands of times and came to mimic Mao's appearance. According to his wife Chen Guangjian, he loved the Mao suit and loathed trying on any other clothes.

Liu died on 7 July 2019 at the No. 1 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, aged 85.