Yao Hongru Human Oil Painting

Author: Yao Hongru
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-10-01
Features: The photographs may be affected by printing bias and excessive contrast, but Yao Hongru's character paintings, though lifelike or even capturing the essence, are also sketches with relatively accurate drawing relationships. However, the colors and tones are always slightly off. Much like my generation of painters, his artistic path was initially influenced by the Su School, whose oil painting colors emphasized "objective effects" achieved through on-the-spot observation—vibrant like "raw," yet with appropriately pleasant "gray tones." Unfortunately, this technique has long faded in China's oil painting circles, with some realistic oil paintings turning toward the so-called "classical style" of Continental Europe. Yao Hongru made a similar choice, but within China, it remains difficult to develop a visual sense of Western original works. Moreover, he often references photographs when painting, even if the results are detailed, the colors and tones inevitably become dull and, lacking the elegance and refinement of classical oil paintings. This is a predicament that many realist oil painters still face today.
During his one-year stay as a "visiting scholar" at our institution, Yao Hongru showed remarkable progress. Comparing his works before entering the school with those afterward, his artistic refinement focused on three aspects:
1. Returning to simple and intuitive "looking"—the skin of the human body, the background environment, especially the transition from mid-tones to darker areas. His early works were often overly intense, dull, or simplistic, gradually evolving into the subtle, transparent, and rich qualities seen in his later works.
2. Reducing the size of his paintings. He was already skilled at depicting details, and small oil paintings were no challenge for him. However, their small scale made it easier to adjust and grasp the overall relationships, and his recent works have reached a level of (skillful and effortless mastery).
3. After gradually forming the above habits, his small paintings began to exhibit the texture and quality of European oil paintings, transforming from the rough and clumsy appearance of the past to a finer, more even, dense, and smooth finish, with visible brushwork that was both deliberate and flavorful.
These achievements stem from his intensive training over two semesters, completing over forty classroom assignments, combined with a sincere and dedicated understanding. In just one year, his progress has been so clear, surpassing his pre-admission level by a significant margin—it is truly commendable.