Heavenly Bath

The name Diana appears in English twice on this print, clearly identifying the reclining female figure as the Greek lunar goddess. Zhang Qingxue, who is known for his passion for Greek mythology, titled the print Heavenly Bath. Diana is shown immersed in a richly colored "bath" of Chinese characters, flowers, buildings, bridges, clouds, representations of planets, stages of the moon, animals of the Chinese zodiac, among other images and symbols. Some elements are linked by lines in the form normally used to indicate constellations; in fact, the artist has used the same device to join stars in the sky. This print won the Silver Award at the 2007 Guizhou Provincial Art Exhibition in Guiyang, China.

Born into a peasant family of the Tujia ethnicity in the small town of Sinan, Guizhou province, Zhang Qingxue dreamed of becoming a painter from childhood. While recovering from a severe attack of polio that caused him physical deformity, the teenage Zhang often spent as much as fifteen hours a day sketching and sculpting. He was admitted to the College of Art at Guizhou Nationality University and received a fine arts degree in 2002. Zhang works as an art teacher to support his artistic activities.
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