Mao Zedong
Poster
ca. 1966 (made)
ca. 1966 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Through the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) Mao Zedong aimed to reinvigorate Communism in China and eliminate traditional urban class differences. A 'saturation campaign' of visual propaganda was a primary vehicle for disseminating the new ideologies. Themes and form were rigidly prescribed and the idealised figures were often copied from source books.
Mao Zedong's personal aim behind the Cultural Revolution was to bolster his own position within the Communist Party. Posters helped to propagate the cult and here he is seen literally as the central subject. Chairman Mao badges and posters offered a means for people to 'own' the cult and demonstrate their allegiance.
Mao Zedong's personal aim behind the Cultural Revolution was to bolster his own position within the Communist Party. Posters helped to propagate the cult and here he is seen literally as the central subject. Chairman Mao badges and posters offered a means for people to 'own' the cult and demonstrate their allegiance.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Mao Zedong (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour offset lithography |
| Brief description | Bust portrait of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung. Chinese Cultural Revolution poster. China, n.d. |
| Physical description | Bust portrait of Chairman Mao on yellow background, wearing cap with Red Guard star and black 'Mao suit' with a green & red collar. Text printed in yellow on red across lower 2/3 of sheet (Chinese). |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | Through the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) Mao Zedong aimed to reinvigorate Communism in China and eliminate traditional urban class differences. A 'saturation campaign' of visual propaganda was a primary vehicle for disseminating the new ideologies. Themes and form were rigidly prescribed and the idealised figures were often copied from source books. Mao Zedong's personal aim behind the Cultural Revolution was to bolster his own position within the Communist Party. Posters helped to propagate the cult and here he is seen literally as the central subject. Chairman Mao badges and posters offered a means for people to 'own' the cult and demonstrate their allegiance. |
| Bibliographic reference | 'Chinese Propaganda Posters.' Taschen. 2003. |
| Other number | LS.1460 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.686-2004 |
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| Record created | September 27, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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