Works of the artist Yue Minjun in the dialogue of traditions of Western European and Chinese painting

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the visualized ego-image of the artist with grinning face as the key character of Yue Minjun’s paintings – one of the prominent representatives of cynical realism trend in Chinese contemporary painting. The image is interpreted through the prism of Chinese socialism, Eastern and Western art traditions.  The author describes in detail the works from different series, determines typical features of individual manners, and compares w…