2007.29: Rouge, bleu, noir

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2007.29

People

Zao Wou-ki, French (Beijing, China 1921 - 2013 Nyon, Switzerland)

Title

Rouge, bleu, noir

Classification

Paintings

Work Type

painting

Date

1957

Culture

French

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/56564

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

74.93 x 81.28 cm (29 1/2 x 32 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• Signed: l.r. name in Chinese characters and 1957 On verso: Zao Wou-Ki 1957
• (not assigned): On back: rouge, bleu, noir 1957

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Benjamin and Lilian Hertzberg, New York, New York, gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 2007.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Benjamin and Lilian Hertzberg

Copyright

© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Accession Year

2007

Object Number

2007.29

Division

Modern and Contemporary Art

Contact

am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Commentary

Zao Wou Ki was bon in 1921 in Beijing and attended the School of Fine Arts of Hangzhou, dividing his studies between Western art and traditional Chinese art. He became a professor in Hangzhou and showed his paintings in Shanghai in 1946. He also organized the first exhibition of modern Chinese painters at the National Historical Museum of Tchoung-King before fleeing political unrest for Paris, where he worked briefly with Emile Othon-Friesz and attracted the admiration of major painters. Escaping the early influence of Matisse and Picasso, Zao adopted a style of his own, mixing Chinese signs with the poetic lines of Paul Klee. From 1955, Zao gave up figurative painting for lyrical abstraction with a Chinese sense of space and gesture. Rouge Bleu Noir is a classic example of this moment in his work. He represented France at the 40th International Exhibition of the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh in 1956 and made a trip around the world with Pierre Soulages in 1957-58. After choosing to become a French citizen in 1964, Zao had his first retrospective exhibition in Essen the following year. His second retrospective was at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montreal and the Museum of Quebec in 1969. He continues to work today and is much revered in China.

Publication History

• Melissa Walt, Ankeney Weitz, and Michelle Yun, No Limits: Zao Wou-Ki, exh. cat., Asia Society Museum and Colby College Museum of Art (New York and Waterville, ME, 2016), pp. 42, 90-91, 172, Cat. no., 13, ill. (color)

Exhibition History

• No Limits: The Art of Zao Wou-ki, Asia Society Museum, New York, 09/09/2016 - 01/08/2017; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, 02/04/2017 - 06/04/2017

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