Dr. He Qi
(b. 1951) was among the many people sent to the countryside during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. As a young man, he escaped hard labor by painting pictures of chairman Mao Zedong. During those years, he once found a copy of Renaissance artist Raphael’s Madonna and Child in a magazine, and was so moved by it, that he began to paint copies of it at night.

He Qi earned a doctorate in religious art from Nanjing Art Institute, having studied medieval art in Hamburg, Germany. He is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Fuller Theological Seminary (CA) and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Art Institute of RUC (Renmin University of China,Beijing).

To learn more about Dr. He Qi, click here.

The Great Commission by Chinese artist He Qi (pronounced "Huh Chee") is a 32" x 32" artist proof giclee (a print with additional painting by the artist).  It is a fusion of several styles, including Chinese and European folk art, as well as modern styles exemplified in the works of Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall.

The work represents the commission by Jesus of his disciples in Galilee following his Resurrection.  The figure of Jesus at the top depicts him sending for this his disciples as apostles, as witnesses.  The three figures in the foreground represent the Anointing of the Spirit, the bearing of the light of Christ into the world.  They might also represent the "offices" of Christ and the mission of the Church:  Worship (the figure praying), Proclamation (the figure bearing the light of the Word of God), and Service (the figure holding a jar of healing ointment).  The figures in the background represent the community of the Church, and the three women at the tomb who were the first witnesses of the Resurrection.

This colorful artwork serves as a symbol of our pastoral priority of evangelization, and challenges us to seek and receive Christ in the other, and to listen to his word coming back to us from those among whom Word has been sown and in whose hearts the seed has taken root.