French painter Christian Poirot has created an emotional painting to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre.
For the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, French painter Christian Poirot has created an emotional painting to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre, and which he will donate to the Nanjing Memorial Hall in December.[Special coverage]
Titled "Deliverance," the painting measures an impressive 3.25 meters tall by 7.46 meters wide, and is the largest Poirot has ever made. It depicts numerous scenes of the violence that occurred during the 1937 massacre, confronting the viewer with the bloody ordeal suffered by the victims.
Lasting over six weeks, from December 13, 1937, until January of 1938, the Nanjing Massacre saw the deaths of as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians at the hands of Japanese invaders.
Poirot spoke to Xinhua about why he created his painting. "So that the entire world would be able to see the work painted with European eyes, the horror inflicted on the innocents and sacrificed in the name of fascist Japanese ideology."
Two years ago, the painter was living in China and working on cityscape paintings, when he was shocked by a television news program he saw in his hotel room. Astonished, he saw Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visit the Yasukuni Shrine, where those killed serving the Japanese Empire are honored.
"He visited the samurais, yes, but also war criminals. When I saw that, I exploded," Poirot exclaimed.
Shortly after, Chinese friends invited him to tour the Nanjing Memorial Hall where he was deeply moved by the homage paid to the victims of the massacre. Returning home, he began reading books by Chinese historians, in order to learn the history of the tragedy, and to become steeped in the details of the event. Before long, he felt the need to act.
"I said, for these people who always welcomed me with such kindness, I will make a painting."
In January 2015 he set to work. Every morning he woke up and read about the Nanjing Massacre to remain connected to the reality of what happened, before entering his studio to paint.
Working primarily with a spatula, Poirot painted his figures in a non-realist style, but one which is still deeply expressive. The characters' forms are fragmented, showing images within images, and revealing multiple layers to every scene.
When he finally unveiled the finished piece, Poirot told Xinhua that it was a period in which he worked every day with the same pain as the figures in his painting are seen experiencing, and so to donate the painting was also a form of deliverance for him.
"It is necessary to examine oneself deep within in order to paint," he explained.
The painter felt that other depictions of the massacre, particularly among his Chinese peers, had been too reserved, often showing the dead, but in manners that were sober and aloof. The French painter decided a different perspective was needed. He decided to show the people of Nanjing being killed, instead of already dead.
