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Yan Pei-Ming, a Chinese artists studying in France, is a success of the old painters Zao Wou-ki and the late artist Chen Zhen. He is the third Chinese artist whose collection has been designated by Musée national d'Art moderne, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Born in a worker's family in Shanghai, Yan Pei-Ming went to France to seek development when he was 20 years old in 1980. He vowed to make some achievements before returning to China. After his "Mouvement 2" was selected by the Centre Georges Pompidou for display in 1991, he came back to China visiting his relatives for the first time. He also won the prix de Rome awarded by the Government of France in 1993 and he went to Villa Médicis, the Académie de France for study one year. In December 2007, he was invited to accompany French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit China. He was also commissioned to paint a portrait of heroes in French resistance movement, which proves that the worker artist is respected and adored by people overseas.

Yan Pei-Ming is currently teaching at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Dijon. In fact, he was also studying here from 1981 to 1986. At initial stage of his creation, he also adopted colors to paint, but he only practiced in black-and- white for charcoal drawing. When he painted in colors, the older generation classic traditional had cast a shadow on him. Finally, he gave up the colors, and only chose duotone, such as black and white, or red and white. Although devices and video had become the mainstream of Western art, he did not take that to heart and adhered to paint portraits as the theme al most at every beginning. During that period in China, he had tried to depict the portrait of workers and farmers, because he had always concerned about the humanitarian. He once talked about the reason for his creation of abstract art in an interview, "Man is like a mirror and that is exactly what interests me. When we look at a painting, it is like looking through a mirror. The image is a kind of mirror." The artists today are often concerned about the metaphysical issue, or explored realism and social issues. However, Yan Pei-Ming has not only concerned metaphysical is- sues, but also daily life. He believes that he can not be isolated from the reality. Judging from the heading of his past portraits, all of them have connected with the reality. Just as he mentioned, the function of a mirror was to relect the times.

Yan Pei-Ming is a portraitist and in 1987, he began to paint the portrait of Mao Zedong in France. He left China seven years ago, but he was just like local artists in China thousands of miles away and selected the political totem, the symbol of China, as the theme. At irst, he was no intended to paint the portrait of Mao Zedong and just tried to express the proile of people in the form of universal being. Thus, he irst start- ed quietly to paint the portrait of unidentiied public figures. However, if an unknown painter selects a nameless theme, he will be unknown silently forever and unable to make progress. As Mao Zedong is the best-known figure in the 20th century and a familiar face in the world, he is a kind of image, as well as a history of China. To crave for fame, Yan Pei-Ming decided to paint the portrait of Mao Zedong. Due to Mao Zedong, his portraits create strength. Mao Zedong in the history of China, as well as the culture it engendered, had paradoxically become the personal poster of the painter, publicizing a stuttering-Chinese-painter-living-in-France. It is an art to heal and comfort homesick feelings, which naturally accepted by French people and made him success.

His exhibition held in Paris in 1991, entitled Face face, partir de son histoire mon histoire commence, displayed his painting intention and track. At irst, he painted Mao Zedong and then painted his father. Sometimes, he was unable to distinguish between the two, because both had the same importance for him. The link between the two was established on the medium of son/ artist. In Shanghai, he painted Mao Zedong to publicize for the regime, and at Dijon in France, he also self-proclaimed as a post artist.

However, his paintings were destructive and critical, and it was not purely a matter of praises. They relected and publicized the humanitarian care. When he painted the portrait of "Great Helmsman" Mao Zedong, or clumsy father as his mother uttered, he had adopted exceptional humane image, instead of the posture of great person.

Curator Bernard Marcadé once wrote: "Ming's Maos are not simply artistic transpositions of the Chinese models, for the use of the West. These portraits take sides, though the artist's approach avoids irony. He alternates relatively traditional representation of the 'Red-Sun-that-enlightens-all- heart' (smiling, radiant, imperial, etc.) and more critical represen- tations (nasty, blind, weeping, bloated, oozing, dying, etc.). Yan Pei-Ming's expressive (not expres- sionist) technique and his concise utilization of black and white (or, in some cases, red) are opposed, in this respect, to the conventional socialist-realist treatment. It is, in effect, the 'human, all too human' character of the China president that prevails over the idealised vision given by the ideology. The painter also declares that he sees no difference between representing Mao and representing his father, between th a portrait of one of the 20 century's most fa- mous figures and a portrait of his own humble progenitor. Similarity, his recent self-portraits show a strong resemblance with the efigies of the Great Helmsman." (Bernard Marcadé, 'Painting as Crime Scene', Yan Pei-Ming - The Way of the Dragon, Les presses du réel, Dijon, 2003).

"Chinese Vermilion" is a series of portraits of Chairman Mao explored by Yan Pei-Ming in red and white colors. It is very prominent in the portraits of Mao Zedong. To some extent, he extended the worship of Andy Warhol to Mao Zedong, but craving the issue of human nature. The art dealer Hetzler, once held an exclusive painting exhibition "Chinese Vermilion - In Memory of Mao" for Yan Pei-Ming in Berlin, said, "Mao's interest is .... of course it is from Andy Warhol, and it is deinitely what we called personality cult. This worship to Mao makes everybody access and the imagery of Mao is so familiar to everyone. No other Chinese leaders or even the world leaders are such often copied like Mao. We mean that Mao is Pope, but to Yan Pei-Ming, I think Mao is a mere personal thing, and these paintings are pure paintings, which is beyond replication." (Extracted from 'Opportunity City for New Generation Booksellers and Artists: an Exclusive Interview with Berlin Picture Dealer Max Hetzler' written by Lamb and translated by Ye Ziqi, in ARTCO magazine, Taipei, Issue of August, 2001).

The lot of "Mao, Chinese Vermilion #5" is the series of "Chinese Vermilion". Yan Pei-Ming selected the most classic color with national character, Vermilion, to express a historical collective symbol. Yan Pei-Ming once recalled in an interview about the origin of red Mao Tse-tung, "At the age of 15 or 16, I was asked to do murals for schools and factories. I suggested portraits of Mao in red, and nobody could refuse. ... Red for good news, black for bad news." (Eric Colliard, "Conversation avec Yan Pei-Ming", in the catalogue Yan Pei- Ming, Dijon, Mecen'art, 1987). This series of works are huge portraits of Mao Zedong and some of them are head portraits of Mao Zedong. "Mao. Chinese Vermilion #5" is a rare piece with a half-length of Mao as composition. The portrait showed here was derived from a well-known historic photo taken in 1956 - Mao Zedong was waving after he swan across the Yangtze River. Mao dressed in robes waved to the public, displaying his amiability to the people, and at the same time, showing the strong will and physique of the great man. However, in the works of the artist, the classic image of Mao Zedong appears fuzzy and remote. With tousled hair and loosen clothing, he had no difference with an extraordinary people and the halo of great helmsman had faded. The historical glory has changed with the times, showing different kinds of visage.

Yan Pei-Ming often creates oversized portraits, as it yields association with signs and billboards. Yan Pei-Ming once said that because of his humbleness, he deliberately adopted huge frame to attract the attention. This is the illusion of small potato to dream of becoming a big whale. He pursues to achieve maximum effect with the simplest materials. Today, huge frame of photos are just like paintings, which are often adopted for art exhibition, for both of them are very similar in form. In China, the posters are extremely huge and the audience must raise their head to watch. The tremendous posters make audience smaller and grow an awestruck feeling. Oriental temples and the Western churches are often huge and huge statues of the gods and Buddha can easily make people subdued. However, Yan Pei-Ming has maintained some delicate relation with the audience in respect of tangible and disparage. Facing the huge size of portrait, we are unable to see the details clearly, if we watch too close. We have to maintain certain distance if we want to enjoy the portrait with ease and comfort. Accuracy lies in the lack of accurate, and if it starts too accurate, then there is no accuracy. Thus, it forms a dialectical relationship of some thought. Just like the portrait of Ma Zedong, whose face looks very clear and precise, but it was painted by the artist with rough and broad strokes, possessing some sort of brutal feeling.

The masterpiece, Vermilion". Yan "Mao. Chinese Pei-Ming selected Vermilion #5", was the most classic not only exhibited color with national at Galerie Max character, Vermilion, Hetzler, Berlin, for Atelier of Yan Pei-Ming (photographed in 2001) to express a Yan Pei-Ming's historical collective exclusive painting exhibition in 2001, but also appeared in "Ming, artiste brigand", a documentary about Yan Pei-Ming shooting by his good friend, Michel Quinejure, a French film director, in 2002. It became key works for ilm promotion, and even critics regarded Yan Pei-Ming as mysterious as Picasso. "Mao. Chinese Vermilion #5" does not belong to political Pop, nor classic red China propaganda, it is a self-publicizing painting, reflecting the historical view of the artist, as well as his ultimate concern of humanity. The pattern showed is tremendous and ever lasting.