Zao Wou-Ki The Great Bathers

Lithograph, 1953

Edition of 95 (26/95)

Published by L'Oeuvre Gravée (Zurich)

Printed by Desjobert (Paris)

Catalog: Agerup 83, p.59

50.00 cm × 65.00 cm (sheet size)

44.00 cm × 58.50 cm (image size)

Signed in pencil

Certificate of Authenticity included

Condition: Excellent

BFK Rives paper

Artwork Description

"The Great Bathers" is an important lithograph created by Zao Wou-Ki in the early 1950s, before his full transition to abstract expression.

During this period, Zao Wou-Ki was already moving towards simplifying forms and depicting space itself, while still retaining traces of figures and landscapes.

This work depicts two figures standing by the water's edge.

However, their forms are not realistically portrayed; their outlines are simply organized, and a quiet poetic sensibility permeates the entire composition.

In a vast expanse that could be a seaside or a lakeside, the figures blend into the landscape, and the "stillness of space" that would characterize his later abstract works is already palpable.

After moving to France in 1948, Zao Wou-Ki studied printmaking techniques in Paris and actively explored the possibilities of lithography and etching.

In particular, the nuances of black and the rhythm of lines in printmaking became important elements that deepened his pictorial world.

In this work too, a serene atmosphere is skillfully expressed through soft shadows and delicate lines.

His interest in ancient Chinese art is also evident in the depiction of figures.

The elongated, simplified figures exude a spirituality akin to ancient Chinese bronzes and traditional aesthetic sensibilities, naturally blending the composition of modern Western printmaking with Eastern sensibility.

In the 1950s, Zao Wou-Ki was developing his own visual language by absorbing:

• Chinese traditional art
• Post-war Parisian avant-garde
• Lyrical abstraction
• Printmaking art

"The Great Bathers" is a work situated in this important transitional period, marking a starting point that leads to his magnificent abstract world of later years.

Title Explanation

The Great Bathers

= "Grand Bathers"

This is the meaning.

In art history, "Bathers" is a very classical theme, and
Paul Cézanne's "The Large Bathers" is particularly famous.

Zao Wou-Ki is believed to have reinterpreted this traditional Western art theme with his own Eastern sensibility, while being conscious of it.