French artist pays homage to Nanjing Massacre victims

French painter Christian Poirot has created an emotional painting to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre. [Photo/Xinhua]

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.

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.