Study of Chinese Propaganda Paintings from 1949 to 1966 : Focusing on Oil Paintings and Posters
The propaganda paintings in oil colors or in forms of posters made from 1949 to1966 have gone through some changes experiencing the influence of the Soviet Union Artand discussion of nationalization, while putting political messages of the time in the pictureplanes. The propaganda paintings which have been through this process became aneffective means of encouraging the illiterate people in political ideologies, production, andlearning. Alike other propaganda paintings in different mediums, the ones which werepainted in oil colors and in the form of posters have been produced fundamentally basedon Mao Zedong’s intensification of the literary art on the talks on literature at Yenan. Yet,the oil paintings and posters were greatly influenced by the socialist realism andpropaganda paintings of the Soviet Union, compared to other propaganda paintings indifferent mediums. Accordingly, they were preponderantly dealt in the discussions ofnationalization of the late‘50s. To devide in periods, the establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 as adiverging point, the propaganda paintings made before and after 1949 have differences insubject matters and styles. In the former period, propaganda paintings focused on thepolitical lines of the Communists and enlightenment of the people, but in the latter period,the period of Cultural Revolution, the most important theme was worshiping Mao Zedong.This was caused by reflection of the social atmosphere, and it is shown that thepropaganda painters had reacted sensitively to the alteration of politics and the society. Onthe side of formalities, the oil paintings and posters made before the Cultural Revolutionwere under a state of unfolding several discussions including nationalization whileaccepting the Soviet Union styles and contents, and the paintings made afterwards showmore of unique characteristics of China. In 1956, the discussion about nationalization which had effected the whole world ofart, had strongly influenced the propaganda paintings in oil colors more than anything.There were two major changes in the process of making propaganda paintings in oilcolors. One was to portray lives of the Chinese people truthfully, and the other was toabsorb the Chinese traditional styles of expression. After this period, the oil painters usually kept these rules in creating their works, and as a result, the subject matters, characters, andbackgrounds have been greatly Sinicized. For techniques came the flat colored surface ofthe new year prints and the traditional Chinese technique of outlining were used forexpressing human figures. While the propaganda paintings in oil colors achieved high quality and depth, theposters had a very direct representation of subject matters and the techniques wereunskilled compared to the oil paintings. However, after the establishment of People’sRepublic of China, the posters were used more than any other mediums for propagation ofnational policy and participation of the political movements, because it was highly effectivein delivering the policies and political lines clearly to the Chinese people who were mostlyilliterate. The poster painters borrowed techniques and styles from the Soviet Unionthrough books and exhibitions on Soviet Union posters, and this relation of influencesconstantly appears in the posters made at the time. In this way, like the oil paintings, theposters which have been made with a direct influence of the Soviet Union had developeda new, sinicised process during the course of nationalization. The propaganda paintings in oil colors or in forms of posters, which had undergonethe discussion of nationalization, had put roots deep down in the lives of the Chinesepeople, and this had become another foundation for the amplification of influences ofpolitical propaganda paintings in the following period of Cultural Revolution.