Liu Jiyong's "Wusong Fights the Tiger"

Author: Liu Jiyong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: [Editor's Recommendation] Mr. Liu Jiyong bore the great mission of innovating Chinese art in the new cultural development of the People's Republic of China. His artistic creations are imbued with ethics of civilization, morality, and progress. Moreover, in terms of composition and technique, he strove for innovation, breaking away from conventions to create brilliant and radiant artworks. The series "Wu Song Fights a Tiger" was created by Mr. Liu Jiyong in 1954, following the completion of "Never Failing to Keep Pace." After producing comic series such as "Chicken Feather Letter" and "Mr. Donggo and the Wolf," he began this meticulous ink and color painting series. In 1955, after its completion, the People's Fine Arts Publishing House published and distributed it across various formats and languages nationwide and worldwide, with continuous reprints to this day.
The series "Wu Song Fights a Tiger" consists of sixteen panels, with vivid imagery, elegant and harmonious colors, and a seamless integration of figure painting, animal painting, landscape, and flora. The composition is rigorous, highlighting the interaction between the central figure, Wu Song, and the tiger, while the tranquil and profound background is meticulously arranged. Every brushstroke is precise, creating a heroic and indomitable image of a valiant figure unseen before. The complex perspective and spatial relationships in each panel are handled with scientific precision, enriching the viewer's visual experience and evoking an immersive emotional response.
The "Wu Song Fights a Tiger" series was painted with a brush on Xuan paper. Mr. Liu Jiyong, guided by his subjective vision, shaped the human form, appearance, and temperament of Wu Song. After finalizing the structure and features of the human body, he depicted Wu Song in sixteen panels, portraying various complex postures and actions across different angles, environments, and emotions within the narrative. The bones, limbs, and facial expressions are accurately rendered with radiant vitality, making it immediately recognizable as Wu Song. Mr. Liu Jiyong's extraordinary modeling ability, combined with his technique of brush lines and ink wash, brings his characters, animals, and landscapes to life on the canvas, earning admiration from artists and researchers both domestically and internationally.