Sheet 2 of figures for Chinese shadow puppets
Medium
Woodcut (?wood engraving matrix)
Dimensions
Sheet: 17 1/2 × 12 3/8 in. (44.5 × 31.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Max G. Wildnauer Fund, 1978
Accession Number
1978.643.3(3)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intriguing woodcut, titled *Sheet 2 of Figures for Chinese Shadow Puppets* (1859), was created by Spanish artists Juan Llorens and Taulo. Measuring 17½ × 12⅜ inches, it features a lively array of puppet designs—including men, women, birds, donkeys, and rabbits—likely intended as templates for crafting the flat, articulated figures used in China's ancient shadow puppetry tradition. puppetry, dating back over a millennium, involves translucent leather or paper silhouettes manipulated behind a lit screen to tell epic stories from folklore and history, blending performance art with intricate ...