Liu Chunhua

Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan, 1967, oil on canva

Liu Chunhua’s work portrays a young Mao, surrounded by luminescence, walking through a picturesque hilly landscape under a clear morning sky. His destination is Anyuan, where he will lead a miners’ strike. The immortal realms, or the extraordinary place covered in the misty fumes of the mountain, are the kind of landscapes often seen in Chinese painting. In this one, hints of modernity are especially evident in the smoky landscape; a telephone pole is visible in the lower left corner of the composition, and water flows from a dam on the right. And the painting is also an impressive depiction that shows that Mao had the capacity to lead the country to revolution; His face, clenched fist, and entire posture express steadfastness and determination.