Description:
Abstract landscape. Line-drawing of a round sun/moon is in the upper right; a building is in the upper left with birds below it to the left. Abstracted human figures and boats are at center and left; birds at base.
Label Text:
Zao Wou-Ki moved to Paris soon after World War II, previously having trained in art and traditional Chinese painting techniques at the China Academy of Art. Influenced by other post-war painters like Paul Klee, Zao combined European abstractionism with Chinese ink painting and calligraphy. We see his unique combination of stylistic influences in Venise, a view of that city’s famous landmark, St. Mark’s Basilica, seen from across an expanse of water dotted with sketchy gondolas.
Zao’s printmaking was often closely tied to his painting practice. Of engraving, and its contrast to oil painting, Zao said: “...I was interested in researching another mode of expression. Unlike painting, engraving permits a large number of variations.” Zao used prints like these three to experiment with the vast variations of composition and color permitted by the medium.
-Kendra Weisbin, Associate Curator of Education, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (Sept. 2017)
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+1991.4.737 |
