Burning up Land Deeds
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This print commemorates the Communist land reform of 1946, when land was taken away from its owners and distributed among peasants. The excitement of the liberated peasants and the village commune manifests itself in leaping flames and swirling clouds rendered in dramatic black-and-white contrasts.
Gu Yuan did not receive formal training in printmaking until 1938, when he arrived in Yan’an and attended the newly founded Lu Xun Institute of Literature and Art. This work is representative of his early style.
Gu Yuan did not receive formal training in printmaking until 1938, when he arrived in Yan’an and attended the newly founded Lu Xun Institute of Literature and Art. This work is representative of his early style.
Artwork Details
- Shaohui dizhao
- Title: Burning up Land Deeds
- Artist: Gu Yuan (Chinese, 1916–1996)
- Date: 1947
- Culture: China
- Medium:
Woodblock print; oil based ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 11 x 7 5/16 in. (28 x 18.5 cm)
Overall: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: On loan from the British Museum
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art