Study for Ink Handscroll

Liu Dan Chinese
1990
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This study illuminates Liu’s process in creating the monumental, convoluted vision Ink Handscroll, on view on your right. Liu began by squaring a small pencil sketch transfer to the full-size scroll, which he affixed to the walls of his studio. He used thread stretched between pins to recreate the grid at a larger scale and then transferred the design using faint ink lines or dots. Only then did Liu begin the slow process of filling in the forms with texture strokes and pale washes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Study for Ink Handscroll
  • Artist: Liu Dan (Chinese, born 1953)
  • Date: 1990
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Pencil on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 3 1/2 × 65 3/4 in. (9 × 167 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Lent by Alexandra Munroe
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Liu Dan
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art