Dong Xiwen (; 1914 – 8 January 1973) was a Chinese painter best known for his 1953 work '' The Founding Ceremony of the Nation.'' Dong was born in 1914 in the Keqiao district of

Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitant ...

prefecture in

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

, China. He graduated from Huilan High School in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...

. In 1932, he was admitted to study civil engineering at

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the n ...

. In 1933 and 1934 he attended the Suzhou Art Institute and the Hangzhou National Art Institute. After graduating from the latter in 1939, he attended the Paris Art Institute at Hanoi, Vietnam for half a year. Between 1942 and 1946, he worked as a researcher at the Dunhuang Art Research Institute, copying wall paintings. In 1946 he began to teach at the

Central Academy of Fine Arts The Central Academy of Fine Arts or CAFA is an art academy under the direct charge of the Ministry of Education of China. The Manila Bulletin calls the school "China’s most prestigious and renowned art academy". It is one of the most selectiv ...

Beiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

. During this time, he sympathized with the student political activities of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

, and participated in activities leading to the takeover of

. In July 1949, he participated in painting the first portrait of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

Tiananmen The Tiananmen (also Tian'anmen (天安门), Tienanmen, T’ien-an Men; ), or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Pacification, is a monumental gate in the city center of Beijing, China, the front gate of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beij ...

. In December of the same year, the jointed the Communist Party. Between 1952 and 1953, he painted his best-known work, The Founding Ceremony of the Nation. Dong was a professor at the

. He led the drafting of the relief sculptures for the

Monument to the People's Heroes The Monument to the People's Heroes () is a ten-story obelisk that was erected as a national monument of China to the martyrs of revolutionary struggle during the 19th and 20th centuries. It is located in the southern part of Tiananmen Square in ...

. He was also a member of the second Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In 1962 he set up a studio in the Academy with

Wu Zuoren Wu may refer to: States and regions on modern China's territory *Wu (state) (; och, *, italic=yes, links=no), a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period 771–476 BCE ** Suzhou or Wu (), its eponymous capital ** Wu County (), a former county ...

and Luo Gongliu. In 1969, he was politically persecuted and made to perform labor. He died of cancer on 8 January 1973. Dong was an expert in portraiture. His

oil paintings Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

combined Western techniques of

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

with the ornamental tastes of Chinese traditional painting, including the bright colors of the Dunhuang wall paintings, in keeping with popular tastes. His work after 1949 was affected by political trends in art. ''The Founding Ceremony of the Nation'' not only became a source for the later "Red Light" movement during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, but was twice amended by Dong after internal conflicts within the Communist Party to remove the figures of

Gao Gang Gao Gang (; 1905 – August 1954) was a Communist Party of China (CPC) leader during the Chinese Civil War and the early years of the People's Republic of China (PRC), before becoming the victim of the first major purge within the CPC since befo ...

and Liu Shaoqi. In 1972, his student Jin Shangyi removed the figure of Lin Boqu from a copy of the painting. In 1979, another replica was made that reproduced the original condition of the painting.

Works

* Oil paintings: 《苗女赶场》(1943), 《哈萨克牧羊女》(1947), 《迎接解放》(1949), '' The Founding Ceremony of the Nation''《开国大典》(1953), 《春到西藏》(1954), 《密云春水》(1964). * Collected works: 《长征路线写生集》, 《董希文画集》, 《董希文素描集》。 * Art criticism:《从中国绘画的表现方法谈到油画中国风》, 《素描基本练习对于彩墨画教学的关系》, 《绘画的色彩问题》。

References

1914 births 1973 deaths Republic of China painters People's Republic of China painters Artists from Shaoxing Painters from Zhejiang Chinese art educators {{China-painter-stub