The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Reconstructed Landscape no. 10

Reconstructed Landscape no. 10

2015
(Chinese, b. 1987)
China
Set of 10 woodblock prints mounted in handscroll format, printed with water-soluble colors
Painting: 48 x 821.1 cm (18 7/8 x 323 1/4 in.); Overall: 52.8 x 1084.9 cm (20 13/16 x 427 1/8 in.)
Alma and Robert D. Milne Fund 2020.65
© Cao Ou
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The arched bridges and soft hills along the lakeshore evoke an image of the West Lake in Hangzhou, where Cao Ou resides.

Description

Cao Ou made this series of ten prints at the age of 28. The edition acquired by the CMA was mounted by the artist in traditional handscroll format. Its bold colors, combining a brilliant red, green, and blue, were impressed in separately cut woodblocks on the paper. The color scheme references traditional blue-and-green landscape paintings. The composition is inspired by a handscroll by Wang Ximeng (1096–1119), A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, now in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

The construction of the scenery out of blocks is reminiscent of Legos or the computer game, Minecraft, that simulates the reconstruction of iconic sights and famous landmarks in 3-D.
  • 2015-2019
    Collection of the artist
    2019-2020
    (The Muban Educational Trust, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2020-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Barker, David. Chinese Woodblock Prints: Context & Practice. London: The Muban Educational Trust, St Paul’s School, 2019. Reproduced: cat. no. 1
    “Permanent Collection Installations: Text and Image in Southern Asia.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 62, no. 4 (December 2022): 12-13. Reproduced: P. 12 (one of ten woodblock prints).
  • Modern Impressions - Light and Water in Chinese Prints (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 4, 2022-May 7, 2023).
    Chinese Woodblock Prints: Context and Practice. The Muban Educational Trust, St. Paul's School, London (January 17-February 5, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=Reconstructed Landscape no. 10|url=false|author=Cao Ou|year=2015|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.65