If the word “masterpiece” drums up visions of centuries-old paintings hanging in museums, well, you’re not wrong in thinking so. However, a masterpiece isn’t only relegated to paintings or artists who use new materials and paint vases with flowers or portraits of European women with sly smiles. There are talented artists who see art in the mundane. They can look at something ordinary and make it extraordinary by seeing its potential and realizing it through their craft.
It’s truly rewarding to create a masterpiece by repurposing old, used up materials to create something better. It takes foresight and an incisere do you source them? How do you put them together? There are plenty of questions to ask yourself before you get started on an art project. Especially a large scale one that is heavily detailed and requires a huge amount of time to come together.
Artist Zheng Chunhui found old material that captured his eye and made a stunning piece out of it. What kind of material did he work with, you ask? One huge freaking tree trunk that he meticulously carved out to created a whole other world of intrigue. You could spend hours looking at this piece because of how detailed it is!
Known as the longest wooden sculpture, Zheng Chunhui’s piece measures 40 ft (12.286 meters) long. The artist’s mind-boggling rendering is based on a famous painting titled “Along The River During The Quinming Festival” created by artist Zhang Zeduan during the Song Dynasty.
The Quinming Festival is a historical holiday that commemorates past ancestors and falls on the 104th day after the winter solstice. Fuzhou, Fujian Province and it seems as though he was on a mission to blow everyone’s mind. Take a look at the photos below and try to imagine the incredible skill and dedication required to create something like this… I think it’s safe to say that Zheng succeeded in his over-the-top ambitious endeavor.
This is a pretty impressive tree trunk that has been sanded and smoothed out! But let’s look closer:
Look at all the incredible details.
Remember, this is only made out of a huge, single tree trunk. Nothing else. Ok, maybe a lot of love and vision!
The sculpture contains over 550 individually carved people. Not to mention all the buildings and foliage.
Oh, and one more thing. This thing of beauty and joy took four years to complete. Kudos to you, sir.
Now THAT’S what I call a masterpiece!
