He Kongde Oil Painting Figures

Author: He Kongde (Illustrator)
Publisher:
Publish Date: July 1, 2003
Features: He Kongde, a native of Xichong, Sichuan, is the third-generation oil painter of China. In the late 1940s of the last century, he abandoned his pen for military service, dedicating himself to the nation. In the early 1950s, on the battlefield of the Korean War, he captured the heroic and moving stories of the Chinese people with his brush. Later, he entered the Oil Painting Training Class of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and received true tutelage from the Soviet expert Maximov. His graduation work, Before the Attack, gained fame and recognition. Together, they spent decades creating art at the Military Museum, producing a wealth of works. Major military historical paintings such as The Autumn Harvest Uprising, The Gutian Conference, Unity is Strength, The Central Military Commission Meeting, Life Never Ends, Charge Never Stops, and Awakening with Swords were all created by him.
Mr. He Kongde excels in portraiture. As an artist, expressing the spirit of the times and shaping personalized iconic figures is a crucial research topic. During the various historical periods of New China, Mr. He created numerous portrait sketches, which depicted the boldness of workers, the simplicity of farmers, the bravery of soldiers, the wisdom of intellectuals, the innocence of children, and the diversity of ethnic minorities. His portraits are both expressive and lifelike. Based on accurate modeling, he meticulously renders faces and features with great care, uses bold brushstrokes to depict clothing, and employs novel shadows and environments to enhance the atmosphere of the figures. Such complete works are often completed in just two or three hours with a single breath.
Mr. He Kongde loves nature. His footsteps have spanned the vast landscapes of China—rivers and lakes, mountains and grasslands, frontier towns. In the sunlight, moonlight, flowers, and forests, he transforms the beauty he discovers into countless landscape sketches, permanently recording them. His landscape paintings feature clever compositions, vibrant colors, and bold contrasts between pure and neutral tones, creating captivating scenes of pastoral beauty.