Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Etching and Aquatint in Colours on Japan Nacré Paper
Paper size: 52 x 35 cm. / 20.5 x 13.8 in.
Image size: 32.7 x 26.7 cm. / 12.9 x 10.5 in.
Additional Information: This original etching and aquatint in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “”Zao Wou-Ki”” in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 50, at the lower left margin. It was printed by Atelier Bellini, Paris and published by Pierre Belfond, Paris in 1972 in a total limited edition of 260 signed and numbered impressions. There were also 30 in Roman numerals on Japan nacre and an edition of 180 on Arches wove paper. The paper is folded along the central spine due to inclusion in the portfolio, the image is printed on the right hand leaf of the sheet.
Note: The Cantos are a collection of epic poems spanning 40 years of writing by one of America’s most controversial poets, Ezra Pound. The most studied and well-known section is the Pisan Cantos, which were written by the poet during his wartime incarceration following the American liberation of Italy. The Pisan Cantos are also significant for their inclusion of Chinese characters and other non-English languages in the core of the texts. Forcing the reader to address the ideas of expression and cultural understanding. With only three books permitted during his detention Pound selected a text by Confucius in the original language, a translation to English of the same text and a Chinese dictionary.
The Pisan Cantos are notable for their reliance on memory, particularly the literary and artistic circles once enjoyed by the poet in the early twentieth century. Zao Wou-Ki masterfully blended traditional Chinese expressionism with Western European abstraction to produce his important ‘Canto Pisan’. Eight magnificent etchings and aquatints with expressive and tonal colouring. With this series Wou-Ki continued his ongoing union of eastern and western ideas, finding a common visual language.
Literature: Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonné 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup.
Reference: Ågerup 222
Condition: Very good condition. Minor staining from hinging in the upper corners verso , faintly visible, recto.
ZAO WOU-KI 1921- 2013
Beijing 1921 -2013 Switzerland (Chinese)
Title: Composition IV, from: Canto Pisan, 1972
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Etching and Aquatint in Colours on Japan Nacré Paper
Paper size: 52 x 35 cm. / 20.5 x 13.8 in.
Image size: 31.7 x 25.7 cm. / 12.5 x 10.1 in.
Additional Information: This original etching and aquatint in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “”Zao Wou-Ki”” in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 50, at the lower left margin. It was printed by Atelier Bellini, Paris and published by Pierre Belfond, Paris in 1972 in a total limited edition of 260 signed and numbered impressions. There were also 30 in Roman numerals on Japan nacre and an edition of 180 on Arches wove paper. The paper is folded along the central spine due to inclusion in the portfolio, the image is printed on the right hand leaf of the sheet.
Note: The Cantos are a collection of epic poems spanning 40 years of writing by one of America’s most controversial poets, Ezra Pound. The most studied and well-known section is the Pisan Cantos, which were written by the poet during his wartime incarceration following the American liberation of Italy. The Pisan Cantos are also significant for their inclusion of Chinese characters and other non-English languages in the core of the texts. Forcing the reader to address the ideas of expression and cultural understanding. With only three books permitted during his detention Pound selected a text by Confucius in the original language, a translation to English of the same text and a Chinese dictionary.
The Pisan Cantos are notable for their reliance on memory, particularly the literary and artistic circles once enjoyed by the poet in the early twentieth century. Zao Wou-Ki masterfully blended traditional Chinese expressionism with Western European abstraction to produce his important ‘Canto Pisan’. Eight magnificent etchings and aquatints with expressive and tonal colouring. With this series Wou-Ki continued his ongoing union of eastern and western ideas, finding a common visual language.
Literature: Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonné 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup.
Reference: Ågerup 221
Condition: Very good condition. Minor staining from hinging in the upper corners verso , faintly visible, recto.
ZAO WOU-KI 1921- 2013
Beijing 1921 -2013 Switzerland (Chinese)
Title: Composition I, from: Canto Pisan, 1972
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Etching and Aquatint in Colours on Japan Nacré Paper
Paper size: 52 x 35 cm. / 20.5 x 13.8 in.
Image size: 40.7 x 25.6 cm. / 16 x 10 in.
Additional Information: This original etching and aquatint in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Zao Wou-Ki” in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 50, at the lower left margin. It was printed by Atelier Bellini, Paris and published by Pierre Belfond, Paris in 1972 in a total limited edition of 260 signed and numbered impressions. There were also 30 in Roman numerals on Japan nacre and an edition of 180 on Arches wove paper. The paper is folded along the central spine due to inclusion in the portfolio, the image is printed on the right hand leaf of the sheet.
Note: The Cantos are a collection of epic poems spanning 40 years of writing by one of America’s most controversial poets, Ezra Pound. The most studied and well-known section is the Pisan Cantos, which were written by the poet during his wartime incarceration following the American liberation of Italy. The Pisan Cantos are also significant for their inclusion of Chinese characters and other non-English languages in the core of the texts. Forcing the reader to address the ideas of expression and cultural understanding. With only three books permitted during his detention Pound selected a text by Confucius in the original language, a translation to English of the same text and a Chinese dictionary.
The Pisan Cantos are notable for their reliance on memory, particularly the literary and artistic circles once enjoyed by the poet in the early twentieth century. Zao Wou-Ki masterfully blended traditional Chinese expressionism with Western European abstraction to produce his important ‘Canto Pisan’. Eight magnificent etchings and aquatints with expressive and tonal colouring. With this series Wou-Ki continued his ongoing union of eastern and western ideas, finding a common visual language.
Literature: Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonné 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup.
Reference: Ågerup 218
Condition: Very good condition. Minor staining from hinging in the upper corners verso , faintly visible, recto.
ZAO WOU-KI 1921- 2013
Beijing 1921 -2013 Switzerland (Chinese)
Title: Composition IV, from: In Honour of the Picture and of Poetry | Á la gloire de l’image et Art poetique, 1976
Technique: Original Hand Signed, Numbered and Dated Lithograph in Colours on Arches Wove Paper
Paper size: 50 x 76 cm. / 19.7 x 30 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Zao Wou-Ki” in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is dated “76” [1976] next to the signature. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 99, at the lower left margin. There were also 15 artist’s proofs and 15 hors commerce [out of trade] impressions. It was printed by Bellini, Paris and published by Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona in 1976. This is the fourth of twelve compositions for the suite “In Honour of the Picture and of Poetry”. The paper bears a partial Arches watermark in the lower left corner.
Literature: Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonné 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup.
Reference: Ågerup 274
Condition: Excellent condition. Remnants of hinging tape at three points along the upper sheet edge, verso.
Condition: Excellent condition.
ZAO WOU-KI 1921- 2013
Beijing 1921 -2013 Switzerland (Chinese)
Title: Composition XI, from: In Honour of the Picture and of Poetry | Á la gloire de l’image et Art poetique, 1976
Technique: Original Hand Signed, Numbered and Dated Lithograph in Colours on Arches Wove Paper
Paper size: 50 x 76 cm. / 19.7 x 30 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Zao Wou-Ki” in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is dated “76” [1976] next to the signature. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition at the lower left margin. There were also 15 artist’s proofs and 15 hors commerce [out of trade] impressions. It was printed by Bellini, Paris and published by Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona in 1976. This is the eleventh of twelve compositions for the suite “In Honour of the Picture and of Poetry”. The paper bears a partial Arches watermark in the lower left corner.
Literature: Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonné 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup.
Reference: Ågerup 281
Condition: Excellent condition. Remnants of hinging tape at three points along the upper sheet edge, verso.
ZAO WOU-KI 1921- 2013
Beijing 1921 -2013 Switzerland (Chinese)
Title: The Stairs | L’escalier, 1951
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Etching in Colours on Rives Wove Paper
Paper size: 56 x 38 cm. / 22 x 15 in.
Image size: 31.7 x 24.6 cm. / 12.5 x 9.7 in.
Additional Information: This original etching in colours is hand signed in pencil in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is also dated in pencil next to the signature ‘51’ [1955]. It is hand numbered and inscribed in pencil ‘H.C.’ one of eight hors commerce [out of trade] impressions aside from the standard edition of 50. There were also eight artist’s proofs. It was printed by G. Le Blanc Paris in 1951.
Literature: 1. Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonne 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup. Reference: Ågerup 66 2. Rivière, Y. ed., Arts et Metiers Graphiques, Zao Wou-ki: Les estampes 1937-1974, Paris, France
Reference: Rivière 68
Condition: Good condition. The sheet reduced on all sides. The sheet slightly toned at the edges.
ZAO WOU-KI 1921- 2013
Beijing 1921 -2013 Switzerland (Chinese)
Title: The Stairs | L’escalier, 1951
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Etching in Colours on Rives Wove Paper
Paper size: 56 x 38 cm. / 22 x 15 in. Image size: 31.7 x 24.6 cm. / 12.5 x 9.7 in.
Additional Information: This original etching in colours is hand signed in pencil in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is also dated in pencil next to the signature ‘51’ [1955]. It is hand numbered and inscribed in pencil ‘H.C.’ one of eight hors commerce [out of trade] impressions aside from the standard edition of 50. There were also eight artist’s proofs. It was printed by G. Le Blanc Paris in 1951. Literature: 1. Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonne 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup. Reference: Ågerup 66 2. Rivière, Y. ed., Arts et Metiers Graphiques, Zao Wou-ki: Les estampes 1937-1974, Paris, France
Reference: Rivière 68
Condition: Good condition. The sheet reduced on all sides. The sheet slightly toned at the edges.
ZAO WOU-KI 1921- 2013
Beijing 1921 -2013 Switzerland (Chinese)
Title: The Lost Forest | La Fôret Perdue, 1955
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Rives Wove Paper
Paper size: 65 x 50 cm. / 25.6 x 19.7 in. Image size: 61.5 x 48 cm. / 24.2 x 18.9 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is also dated in pencil next to the signature ’55 [1955]. It is hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 125, at the lower left margin. There were also 20 artist’s proofs. It was printed by E. and J. Desjobert, Paris in 1955 and published by l’Oeuvre Graveé, Zurich in a limited edition of 125 hand signed and numbered impressions.
Literature: 1. Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonne 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup. Reference: Ågerup 95 2. Rivière, Y. ed., Arts et Metiers Graphiques, Zao Wou-ki: Les estampes 1937-1974, Paris, France
Reference: Rivière 89
Condition: Very good condition. The sheet slightly toned at the edges.
ZAO WOU-KI 1921- 2013
Beijing 1921 -2013 Switzerland (Chinese)
Title: Composition XI, from: In Honour of the Picture and of Poetry | Á la gloire de l’image et Art poetique, 1976
Technique: Original Hand Signed, Numbered and Dated Lithograph in Colours on Arches Wove Paper
Paper size: 50 x 76 cm. / 19.7 x 30 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Zao Wou-Ki” in Chinese and Pinyin at the lower right margin. It is dated “76” [1976] next to the signature. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 99, at the lower left margin. There were also 15 artist’s proofs and 15 hors commerce [out of trade] impressions. It was printed by Bellini, Paris and published by Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona in 1976. This is the eleventh of twelve compositions for the suite “In Honour of the Picture and of Poetry”. The paper bears a partial Arches watermark in the lower left corner.
Literature: Ågerup, J. (1994). Zao Wou-Ki – The Graphic Work – A Catalogue Raisonné 1937-1995. Copenhagen: Heede & Moestrup. Reference: Ågerup 281
Condition: Excellent condition. Remnants of hinging tape at three points along the upper sheet edge, verso.