Chinese artist Leng Jun is the master of hyperrealism as he creates portraits that are startlingly close to real life. The skilled painter is very accomplished, but some of his best-known works are detailed oil paintings of women where everything is a perfect rendition of reality – down to the last wisp of hair. Leng was born in 1963 and grew up during a time of great economic reform within his country which was known as the Opening of China. This massive cultural shift, along with the Western influences that it brought, found their way into his art and served as massive influences in his work. Leng first became interested in painting at a very young age. His first experiments with oil painting happened when he was in middle school. While there weren’t readily available oil paints in China at the time, his friend was the one who gave him a couple of colors to play around with. “For people like me who were born around the 1960s, we were teenagers at the time when we formed our worldview. That was a great opportunity. Looking back, reform and opening-up really saved the soul of our generation,” Leng said. He added, “At the time, information coming from the West greatly contributed to the enlightenment of our people. It also laid a very solid foundation for my later creations.” Leng was already a well-respected artist in the community prior to his 2004 oil painting entitled, “Mona Lisa” going viral. This work is a photorealistic portrait of a woman. Leng was inspired to base it off the principals of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting but depicted a modern-day woman instead. This portrait was followed up with a series of photorealistic portraits of women, each one more detailed than the last. One can grow a great appreciation for the brushstrokes that bring the portrait to life as they are so intricate and detailed. Like all great art, it is not without some criticisms. There are those who still maintain that the works look too much like photographs. Leng maintains that the paintings won’t deceive anyone who manages to see them in person. It is also not his intent to compete with photography or imitates it, but instead, he is pushed to take his artistry to its absolute limit. By balancing the technical skill with the raw emotion of his work, Leng has been able to touch people around the world with his art. Leng said to CGNT, “I want to push my painting skills to a higher level. What is the most difficult thing? To paint people. For example, still life or rusted metals, they’re not something we see every day. People deal with people the most and people are most familiar with people. To portray people and make others believe is the hardest thing.”
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Leng Jun is a contemporary Chinese artist.
Even if his paintings are magnified 100 times,
they are still full of details.
At the Gadd auction,
a portrait of him was auctioned for 70.15 million yuan.
A painting takes at least a year.
Every day, he only draws a few centimeters.
Even models can't wait to resign and leave.
Critics say that Leng Jun is a master,
an art creator,
and even compared him to Da Vinci.
Critics say that his paintings are too detailed,
and too artistic.
Leng Jun's unparalleled evaluation
made him famous for a while.
So how did he do it?
How did he draw such a realistic portrait
In 1963, Leng Jun was born in Dazhu County, Sichuan,
a place known as the hometown of Taiji Boxing.
After that, he came to Wuhan with his father's work.
When he was a teenager,
Leng Jun showed his talent for painting.
When other children played with mud,
he drew with a small stick.
When other children liked to play games,
he liked to read novels quietly.
When he went to school,
Leng Jun still maintained his passion for painting.
When he had a chance,
he would hold a pen and draw on the paper.
When he was young, the conditions were limited,
so it was not easy to get a pen.
Leng Jun used a pencil to draw all kinds of patterns he liked.
Unfortunately,
although there was no professional teacher to guide him when he was young,
Leng Jun insisted on his passion
and persisted all the way
until he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Wuhan.
There are many stories about Leng Jun's learning of painting.
One time, he suddenly wanted to draw a tiger.
But there was no ready-made template to use,
so he went to the zoo.
Looking at the tiger,
he came back to draw it and forgot what the next step was.
He went back and continued to observe.
It was with this stupid method
that Leng Jun finally completed this tiger picture.
The confidence in detail
was revealed from the very beginning of his painting.
Unlike others,
others are all in pursuit of highlighting the key points,
and the key parts are clear.
Others can be handled in a more vague way.
He is not like that.
Leng Jun's painting requires meticulousness,
and even every hair of the tiger
has to be repeatedly processed
until it reaches the real level.
In 1980,
Leng Jun was admitted to the university as he wished.
At school, he became another person.
Because his way of painting is different from others,
he is very different from others,
and he is very stubborn.
In the sketch class,
others start from the large positioning of the outline,
pay attention to the contrast between light and dark,
and pursue the reality of the character.
As for the difference in details,
they don't care so much.
This is also a traditional way of painting.
The mainstream way of painting
pursues the creativity of painting
and the uniqueness of painting.
The main point of the picture is rich in details,
while the secondary point of the picture is not so focused.
However, Leng Jun is different from others.
Every detail of his painting is perfect.
Everyone says that he is too down-to-earth.
There is only technology,
but no art.
Without appreciation,
it is better to look at his paintings than to look at the photos.
On the one hand,
Leng Jun is indeed different from the general public of painting artists.
On the other hand,
Leng Jun is indeed good at painting.
After all,
not everyone can draw pictures.
This unique way of painting
also has another consequence,
which is serious ignorance.
In the four years of college,
Leng Jun was once doubted
by others' misunderstanding and disapproval.
When he just graduated,
Leng Jun tried to change his style
and followed the advice of his classmates.
So he began to try to create
a style different from the past.
At this time,
Leng Jun's works began to
run in the direction of luxury.
However, after a while,
Leng Jun found that
the works he deliberately changed the style
did not cause any trouble.
Compared with other artists,
he has no characteristics.
Art creation is the worst without characteristics.
This failed transformation
did not bring any help to Leng Jun's art path.
He found that
he had done something useless and unpleasant,
so he decided to go back to his original intention.
In 1991,
Leng Jun became an expert in the Wuhan Art Gallery
and started his career here.
His works,
such as Wooden Bones,
were selected to participate in
the Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition in 1991,
as well as the Chinese Oil Painting 100th Anniversary Exhibition.
A series of honors began to come to him.
What really made Leng Jun
recognized by the market
was the unique creative style
he created with cement, bricks and children's toys.
The unique creative style
was exactly the topic
that caused the collapse of the Korean Department Store Building.
This work has been released
and caused a heated discussion among the public.
Some people said that the materials were mixed up
and the layout was difficult.
Some people said that it was a hard shot.
After the work was sold at a high price
of 43.7 million yuan,
the critics' remarks
slowly calmed down.
The real value of a work of art
is what the market has the most right to say.
Leng Jun made a lot of attempts
until he met a girl
who opened his path of imagination and creation.
Leng Jun had a marriage
that was not a good one.
His wife started from being his model.
At that time, Leng Jun was already famous.
By chance,
Leng Jun met a girl named Luo Min.
At that time, Luo Min was a primary school art teacher.
Luo Min's family was not happy since childhood.
She always had a depressed temperament.
She also learned to draw since childhood.
She heard about Leng Jun's fame
and admired him very much.
Therefore, when Leng Jun invited Luo Min
to be his model,
Luo Min agreed without hesitation.
Leng Jun's model is different from others.
His painting can take a year.
He can only finish a few centimeters of painting
The biggest requirement for a model
is to be able to keep calm
and to maintain a posture for a long time.
It's not easy.
In order to reduce Luo Min's burden
and make them less embarrassed,
Leng Jun often told Luo Min stories
about what he had seen and heard.
Sometimes, it was a story he had seen.
Gradually,
the atmosphere between the two became more and more harmonious.
Leng Jun also unknowingly conquered
the heart of this girl who was 18 years younger than him.
The painting work was very boring.
It was also the appearance of lonely Luo Min
that made Leng Jun feel
the warmth of being accompanied.
In 2007, after Luo's work was completed,
the two successfully entered the marriage.
After the exhibition of the two's love work,
it caused widespread discussion
At first, it was even questioned
because the details were too real
and it was suspected that it was a spray painting.
It can be seen that Luo's work
did make the details infinitely real.
However, the life after marriage
is not so good.
Leng Jun is a pure person.
He only has his painting in his eyes.
For Luo Min, who changed from a model to a lover,
Leng Jun's attitude has also changed.
Luo Min can't feel her husband's care for her
and can't feel her husband's love.
In addition, the two are 18 years apart.
A lot of rumors
keep coming into her ears.
In 2015, Luo Min
has a new career.
However, he is more and more disappointed with his marriage.
The two's marriage has come to an end.
He took the initiative to propose to Leng Jun.
It is said that love is lost,
but career is gained.
Since then, Leng Jun has started
the path of creation of portrait works.
Xiao Jiang, Xiao Wen, and Xiao Tang
are all based on ordinary workers.
This series of portrait works
has made Leng Jun a real artist.
On November 16, 2019,
Leng Jun's portrait, Xiao Jiang,
was auctioned at a price of 30 million yuan
In the end, it was sold at a high price
of 70.15 million yuan.
This price broke the auction record
and proved that Leng Jun's works
have gained market recognition.
It is said that hard work pays off.
Those who have ambition will succeed.
Leng Jun has been working hard for many years.
The reason why his paintings
can be auctioned at such a high price
has nothing to do with his excellent painting skills.
However, the value of art is far from that.
