Camels

Wu Zuoren Chinese

Not on view

Wu Zuoren's sympathetic portrayals of the lives of the peoples, animals, and landscapes of western China assured him political favor throughout the dangerous 1950s and 1960s. His favorite subjects—yaks, oxen, camels, and eagles—seem to embody the potent spirit of China's vast human and natural resources.

Wu was a master of ink, controlling the flow of dilute washes across absorbent unsized paper and letting the wash create a line at the paper's edge. This spontaneous ink-wash style owed a debt to Qi Baishi (1864–1957), Wu's senior colleague at the Beijing Central Art Academy.

Camels, Wu Zuoren (Chinese, 1908–1997), Album leaf; ink on paper, China

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