Skip to main content

Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Chinese, b. 1971
Jianyong Zeng was born in 1971 in Chengdu, in the Sichuan Province of China. He originally trained as a illustrator for children’s books, completing several for Warner Book Publications before choosing to focus on his own paintings. Zeng has a unique style and subject matter, both of which he exploits to their fullest potential in his Header Series. This group of paintings depicts children with disproportionately large heads and wide eyes. They stare out from the canvas with expressions that suggest a combination of innocence and anxiety. One is reminded of the travails of childhood and of the difficulty children face in learning to navigate a world that operates beyond their understanding and without their consent. These portraits also have a more particular meaning. The term Header, refers to the title that is granted to the highest-achieving children in each class at school. To be a Header is a coveted position and parents often pressure their children into working extraordinarily hard to win this title. Zeng seems to imply that although Headers enjoy a certain level of prestige, they are often envied by their classmates, who taunt and bully them. In the paintings, the children’s frightened eyes and sprawling red marks, suggestive of physical abuse, attest to the realities they face. Zeng’s interest in this subject arose from the very personal experience of watching his young son attend school. As a result of this close encounter, Zeng developed a sense of sympathy and compassion for these youth who spend their time seeking to appease their parents, rather than enjoying a carefree childhood. In spite of the pressures they face, however, the children in his paintings still retain a measure of childhood innocence that will not be overcome. The Header Series is compelling because it captures this tension of childhood by creating portraits that are intimate and very honest.
to
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
10
1,622
1,169
878
787
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Artist: Zeng Jianyong
Zeng Jianyong "The Header No. 67"
By Zeng Jianyong
Located in Los Angeles, CA
ZENG JIANYONG (b. 1971) "The Header No. 67" 2008 Ink and watercolor on handmade paper Sheet Size: 35 ½ x 28 ¾ inches (90 cm x 73 cm) Framed Size: 37H x 30W inches Inventory Number: C...
Category

Early 2000s Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Zeng Jianyong "The Header No. 67"
By Zeng Jianyong
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Zeng Jianyong The Header No 67 Ink and watercolor on handmade paper 35 ½ x 28 ¾ inches ...
Category

Early 2000s Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Related Items
Two Hand Coloured 18th Century Engravings from "Small Riding School" No 26 & 32
Located in Cotignac, FR
Two Mid 18th century hand coloured copper plate engravings of equestrian subjects by Johann Elias Ridinger. Initial signed 'in the plate' bottom right. Presented in fine gilt wood fr...
Category

Mid-18th Century Rococo Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Ink

Hand Coloured 18th Century Copper engraving from "Small Riding School" No 32
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid 18th century hand coloured copper plate engraving of an equestrian subject by Johann Elias Ridinger. Initial signed 'in the plate' bottom right. Presented in a fine gilt wood fra...
Category

Mid-18th Century Rococo Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Ink

Bob Marley, Happy Birthday, Mr. Brainwash, Limited Edition, Large Format
By Mr. Brainwash
Located in Draper, UT
Mr. Brainwash Bob Marley’s 74th Birthday Limited Edition Screen Print with Watercolor from 2019. Iconic, beloved artist, Bob Marley is a pioneer and legend of Reggae music. "One Lov...
Category

2010s Street Art Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Spray Paint, Watercolor, Archival Paper, Stencil

Hand coloured framed print of semi nude sculpture like marble statue of female
Located in London, GB
Katie Eleanor, "Cleansing a Shrike (Blackbird’s Birdbath)", 2018 Handcoloured portrait of a bird-like spirit, immobilised in marble, cleansing in a sprin...
Category

2010s Romantic Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Glass, Oak, Paint, Watercolor, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment

"Jewish Bride of Fez" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper
Located in Detroit, MI
"Mariée Juive de Fès" translated to "Jewish Bride of Fez" is plate number 52 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Morocco from his series "Costumes du Maroc" ("Costumes of Morocco). The woman depicted here is a young Jewish woman dressed for her wedding. She is dressed in traditional fashion for a Jewish wedding for the community in Morocco, a community with a long history in the region, especially the city of Fez, the second largest city in Morocco and known as the "Mecca of the West" for its contributions to religion and learning. For this reason and its northern proximity, Fez was a prominent destination for Jews fleeing Spain. Jewish history in Morocco is long, dating back to the 1st century, their numbers later increased by the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492 by the Alhambra Decree. Jean Besancenot's sixty plate reproduced and handcolored gouache on paper study on the diversity of Morocco's cultures is a work of stunning historical importance in tracing the rich and vibrant diversity of North Africa. Besancenot spent the 1930s traveling around Morocco, undertaking an awe-inspiring study of its peoples and rendered in vivid and precise detail the way they traditionally lived and dressed. Many of those outfits and cultural expressions are gone now, with Besancenot's watercolored drawings of them some of the only ways that people can now visit the past. The original manuscript of "Costumes du Maroc" is kept in the Royal Collection in Rabat, with only 310 copies of it produced. These prints are fresh from the folio and have been newly museum framed under conservator glass; unframed the image of the print is 12.75 x 7.75 inches. The tissue guards that bear the caption of the plate have been framed in the verso with the title visible behind clear plastic. Jean Besancenot, real name Jean Girard, was a photographer, painter, designer, and ethnologist who was born in 1902 in Estrées-Saint-Denis. His work straddles the crossroads of art and ethnography as he was primarily interested in the costumes and ornaments of Morocco in the first half of the 20th century. He arrived for the first time in Morocco in 1934, a country he traveled through until 1939. There he produced a very rich ethnographic documentation on the traditional costumes and adornments of the different Moroccan ethnic groups. His work, composed of photographs, films, drawings and paintings, testifies to the aestheticism of Moroccan cultural heritage that was still marked by little Western influence. His book "Costumes du Maroc" was published in 1942 at the end of his first trip and presents 60 documented plates of Moroccan costumes...
Category

1940s Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Nude Woman - Mixed Media on Cardboard by Leo Guida - 1970s
By Leo Guida
Located in Roma, IT
Nude Woman is an original mixed media on cardboard artwork by Leo Guida in the XX century. The state of preservation is good except for some foxings. Sheet dimension: 35 x 50 ONn...
Category

1970s Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor

Children: black and white drawing of Christmas holiday winter scene
By Michele Zalopany
Located in New York, NY
Image 12.5 x 19 in. / 32 x 48 cm Paper 28 x 38 in. / 72 x 98 cm Lithograph on smooth, handmade white paper, with pale yellow watercolor border. Edition 30: this impression 22/30...
Category

1980s Contemporary Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph, Watercolor

Portrait
Located in Belgrade, MT
This lithograph is a piece of my private collection from artists of the 20th Century. It is original, signed by artist and numbered 217/220. It is vibrant in color and in very good...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Plate Glass, Oil, Lithograph, Watercolor

Lonely dreamers .1992. Paper, etching, watercolor, 22x14 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Lonely dreamers 1992. Paper, etching, watercolor, 22x14 cm. Roman Lapp (1961. 24. VII Moscow) – painter Artist learned drawing to M. Zuhovickis. He graduated Art Academy of Latvia,...
Category

1990s Impressionist Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Etching

"Woman of the Aït MGuild" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper
Located in Detroit, MI
"Femme Des Aït MGuild" translated to "Woman of the Aït MGuild" is plate number 19 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people ...
Category

1940s Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Jewish Woman of the Tafilelt" from "Costumes of Morocco", Gouache on Paper
Located in Detroit, MI
"Juive du Tafilelt" translated to "Jewish Woman of the Tafilelt" is plate number 55 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the peopl...
Category

1940s Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Hand-coloured Print of weeping mythical sculpture angels in Walnut Frame
Located in London, GB
Hand-coloured tableau of a weeping spirit and her guardians, immobilised in marble. A disjointed narrative looking at recovery and protection, the angels shield the spirit with tender embraces and cry for her when alone. Taken from The Sialia Marbles, a series of portraits containing ephemeral human sculptures taken between 2016-19. Together these works act as tales contained in a fictional sculpture hall, in direct reaction to Andre Malraux’s 1947 Le Musee Imaginaire (Museum Without Walls). During the beginning of the 'Museum Age' in the 18th century , writer Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe discussed mythical...
Category

18th Century Victorian Zeng Jianyong Prints and Multiples

Materials

Cotton, Walnut, Paint, Photographic Film, Ink, Spray Paint, Watercolor, ...

Zeng Jianyong prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Zeng Jianyong prints and multiples available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Zeng Jianyong in ink, paint, watercolor and more. Not every interior allows for large Zeng Jianyong prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 30 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Chu Teh-Chun, Yue Minjun, and Alex Guofeng Cao. Zeng Jianyong prints and multiples prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $60,000 and tops out at $125,000, while the average work can sell for $75,000.

Recently Viewed

View All