Fan Di'an, head of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, says Wu took on a realistic style that is visible in his lithographs of both Chinese leaders and ordinary people, such as farmers, factory workers and soldiers.

The current exhibition shows Wu's caricatures in the 1940s criticizing oppressors and watercolor works of Chinese soldiers he created on the front line of the Korean War, as well as the prints and illustrations for a Chinese version of The Iron Flood, a novel by the late Soviet writer Alexander Serafimovich.

"I'm satisfied with my paintings of Zhou Enlai, not only because I was then (in the 1970s) technically mature, but also my heart was filled with reverence and affection for him," Wu says.

The show includes his colored ink paintings that reflect Wu's major breakthrough since the '70s, exhibition curator Guo Hongmei says.

Among the works is Li Zicheng Marching to Beijing, a collaboration with another painter Lu Hongnian in 1973. The 4-meter-long painting depicts the rebel leader, whose armies overthrew the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), being greeted by his supporters in the streets. It is now a collection of the National Museum of China in Beijing.

Wu's many ink works were inspired by his extensive travels across the country. His landscapes of the Three Gorges along the Yangtze River, which he visited in the '70s, reflect the changes in the area over the years.

"I was overwhelmed by their vigor and magnificence. I didn't feel constrained by anything. There was only nature and me, and I drew it with all the skills and emotions I had," Wu recalls.

Gao Rongsheng, a former student, says Wu keeps a low profile although boasting great accomplishments, and the retrospective will tell the youth that working hard is how an artist can carve out a niche.

Wu says: "A real artist should contribute to the age he lives in, and owes a sense of responsibility to society, especially to the young students of art."