The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Master Series, Four Portraits of Masters of Modern Art: Yan Wenliang (1893-1988), Pan Tianshou (1897-1971), Shi Lu (1919-1982) and Qi Baishi (1864-1954)

2017

Liu Jing

(Chinese, b. 1983)
China, Hunan province, Changsha
Set of four woodblock prints and digital lithographic images
Image: 90 x 60 cm (35 7/16 x 23 5/8 in.); Paper: 120 x 60 cm (47 1/4 x 23 5/8 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2018.205
© Liu Jing
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

While the prints resemble black-and-white photography, the haunting, jet-black pupils of the figures do not show any reflection of light.

Description

Master Series features leading men of culture in modern China. Depicted are ink artist Qi Baishi with hat, National Art Academy director Pan Tianshou with glasses, the eccentric artist Shi Lu, and oil painter Yan Wenliang with black eyes. They each contributed to China’s reformation and modernization during the Republican period (1912–49) and the Mao era (1949–76); all came under attack during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). The award-winning prints combine digital design and woodblock printing with oil-based inks.
  • 2017-18
    Collection of the artist, Changsha, China, 2017-18
    2018
    (The Muban Educational Trust, London, UK, 2018, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2018-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2018-present
  • Spotlight on a New Generation: Contemporary Chinese Artists. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 6-November 1, 2020).
    Facing the Ancestors: Chinese Portraits and Figure Painting – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 12, 2019-February 2, 2020).
  • {{cite web|title=Master Series, Four Portraits of Masters of Modern Art: Yan Wenliang (1893-1988), Pan Tianshou (1897-1971), Shi Lu (1919-1982) and Qi Baishi (1864-1954)|url=false|author=Liu Jing|year=2017|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.205