Issuing New Land Certificates – Gu Yuan Chinese Woodcut, c.1952–1957

Description

Gu Yuan Chinese Woodcut – Issuing New Land Certificates

This Gu Yuan Chinese woodcut is an early impression of one of the artist’s important compositions devoted to rural life and agrarian reform in twentieth-century China.

The work is entitled Issuing New Land Certificates, or Fa Xin Tudi Zheng (发新土地证). The original composition was created in 1947, while this particular example is believed to be an early reprint produced around 1952-1957.

The scene depicts a large gathering of Chinese peasants waiting to receive their new land certificates. Men and women crowd around a raised entrance where an official distributes documents. The monumental architecture, densely arranged figures and dramatic contrasts of black and white create a powerful sense of collective expectation.

The Chinese inscription displayed on the wall refers to the principle of “land to those who cultivate it”, directly connecting the image with the agrarian reforms taking place in rural China during the late 1940s.

Gu Yuan and Modern Chinese Printmaking

Gu Yuan (古元, 1919-1996) was one of the leading figures of the modern Chinese woodcut movement. Born in Guangdong Province, he joined the Communist forces in Shaanxi in 1938 and subsequently studied at the Lu Xun Academy of Arts in Yan’an.

His woodcuts combined elements of Chinese popular printmaking with the expressive qualities of modern European graphic art. Their clear compositions and forceful contrasts made them particularly effective for depicting rural communities, social change and the lives of ordinary people.

Gu Yuan later held a leading position at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. His prints are now represented in major Chinese and international museum collections.

Details

• Artist: Gu Yuan 古元 (1919-1996)

• Title: Issuing New Land Certificates

• Chinese title: 发新土地证

• Original composition created: 1947

• Date of this impression: circa 1952-1957

• Country: China

• Technique: woodcut printed in black on paper

• Sheet dimensions: 35.7 × 24 cm

• Printed image dimensions: 22 × 17.2 cm

• Presented unframed

The sheet is in good vintage condition, with minor age-related marks and natural variations visible in the photographs. Please examine all images carefully, as they form an integral part of the description.

This is an early mid-twentieth-century impression after Gu Yuan’s 1947 woodcut, not a recent decorative reproduction. Its historical subject, strong graphic composition and association with one of China’s major modern printmakers make it a particularly interesting collector’s piece.