Red Figure
Zhao Xuebing
赵学兵
Production date
2015
Media
ink on paper
Measurements
35 x 24 cm
Notes
Zhao Xuebing's 2016 series of ink drawings are highly refined, revealing his confident technique and his knowledge of both western and eastern traditions. 'Red Figure' depicts the dramatically gesturing figure of Christ's disciple Matthew, a detail taken from da Vinci's famous 'Last Supper' fresco. Apart from the fascination of seeing this familiar image removed from its context and reproduced in an entirely different medium, the process recalls a Chinese tradition in which each new generation of artists trained by copying from the masters, ultimately aiming to add something new to the ‘original’ work in a new iteration, in a kind of endless, generational translation and reinvention of images.
Accession number
2016.129