White Lotus

Artist

Zhang Daqian (Chinese, 1899 – 1983)

Date

1973

Medium

Lithograph

Dimensions

Sheet : 30 x 22 1/4 in. (76.2 x 56.52 cm)
Mat : 36 x 30 in. (91.44 x 76.2 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of the Mason Family

Object Number

2015.52.1

Label

Zhang Daqian was a highly regarded traditional Chinese painter who left mainland China before the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949. Living in Taiwan and the United States, Zhang worked to preserve and modernize the conventions of traditional Chinese scholar painting. In the 1970s, he experimented with lithography as a way of making his art more widely accessible to non-Chinese audiences. The lithography process allowed Zhang faithfully to replicate his painting style, so the visual effect of this print is not very different from his paintings. Lotuses were a common subject in traditional Chinese art. Because the flowers rise up from mucky ponds and swamps and create beautiful blossoms, lotuses were considered symbols of spiritual transcendence and Buddhist enlightenment.