Images(2)

World Peace

Artist Fang Zhaoling (Chinese, 1914 - 2006)

Date1990

MaterialsInk and colors on paper

DimensionsH. 27 1/2 in x W. 21 in, H. 69.8 cm x W. 53.3 cm (image); H. 73 in x W. 31 in, H. 185.4 cm x W. 78.7 cm (overall)

Credit LineGift of the artist's children

Object number2005.33

DepartmentChinese Art

ClassificationsPainting

On View

Not on view

InscribedInscribed: To wish auspicious prospects for the year of the ram. Winter, 1990, world peace, Fang Zhaoling.

More Information

Inscribed: To wish auspicious prospects for the year of the ram. Winter, 1990, world peace, Fang Zhaoling

Here Fang Zhaoling captured many of the elements of a traditional New Year's celebration in a small Chinese village. The foreground is dominated by a man on a donkey following a ram. The two colorful lanterns that hang from the gate to the village are of the type that have a large role in New Year's celebrations throughout China. One child plays with a noisemaker while a brightly attired adult offers fruit to another child; fruits and vegetables—symbols of a bountiful harvest—are displayed on a table; nearby a man sits cross-legged on a raised platform, his boots neatly positioned in front of it. As in many of Fang's paintings, what appears to be pleasant and naive depiction of village life is given deeper meaning by the inscription. Here she used the context of a celebration of new beginnings as an opportunity to wish for world peace.