Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 1, 2024
The Founding Ceremony of the Nation is a 1953 oil painting by Chinese artist Dong Xiwen. It depicts Mao Zedong and other Communist officials inaugurating the People's Republic of China at Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949. A prominent example of socialist realism, it is one of the most celebrated works of official Chinese art. After the Communists took control of China, they sought to memorialize their success with art. Dong was selected, and completed the painting in three months in a folk art style, drawing on historical Chinese art. The painting's success was assured when Mao viewed it and liked it, and it was widely reproduced for home display. Dong was ordered to remove Gao Gang from the painting in 1954 and Liu Shaoqi in 1967, after government purges. In 1972 a copy was made by other artists to accommodate another deletion. After the purged officials were rehabilitated, the replica was modified in 1979 to include them. Both canvases are in the National Museum of China in Beijing. (Full article...)