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Autumn Lotus

Artist (Chinese, b. 1934)
Datedated 1984
MaterialsInk and colors on paper
DimensionsH. 27 in x W. 53 1/2 in, H. 68.6 cm x W. 135.9 cm (image); H. 33 1/2 in x W. 66 3/8 in, H. 85.1 cm x W. 168.6 cm (overall)
Credit LineAnonymous gift
Object number1998.56
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsPainting
On View
Not on view
More Information

In China, the lotus in autumn symbolizes the endurance of the human spirit as well as purity of mind. It is among the topics most favored by Yang Yanping, an artist who suffered tremendously during the Cultural evolution (1966–1976).

Yang graduated with a degree in architecture from Qinghua University in Beijing in 1958. She also studied oil painting and during the Cultural Revolution was commissioned to paint portraits of Chairman Mao Zedong. After the revolution Yang continued to paint in oils and by 1980 was considered one of China's leading artists in the medium. She also studied Chinese painting in ink and colors on paper, and her works of the mid-1980s reveal a combination of styles in these two mediums.

Subject
  • autumn
  • lotus
Lotus
Yang Yanping
dated 1991
Landscape
Yang Yanping
approx. 1980-1990
Lotus Pond in Autumn
Cui Zifan
approx. 1980-1990
River View through Twisted Branches
Yang Yanwen
1994 or earlier
Super Models
Yang Gang
2000
Prunus
Yu Yang-ok
approx. 1996
Bird and Autumn Leaves
Chao Shao-an
1967
Mid-Autumn Festival
Liu Guosong
1969