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Burning up Land Deeds

Gu Yuan Chinese

1947

Not on view

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.

Burning up Land Deeds, Gu Yuan (Chinese, 1916–1996), Woodblock print;
oil based ink on paper, China — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

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

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Asian Art at The Met

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