Exploring the iconography and cult of Mao Zedong in China

The Mao is the first comprehensive book to cover the construction of the cult of personality devoted to Mao Zedong from the 1940s onwards, and the abundant iconography that grew out of this phenomenon: an imagier that covers 60 years of Chinese popular art, an anonymous production based on the tireless copying and interpretation of a few cult images known the world over.

The book presents and comments on 800 pieces of all kinds - paintings, woodcuts, posters, photographs, sculptures, porcelain, badges, fabrics - all designed to promote and sublimate the cult. This production resulted in tens of billions of objects distributed throughout China. Through sixteen chapters, The Mao also provides an insight into the deep and often hidden meaning of this madness. Through this iconography, the book revisits certain episodes in contemporary Chinese history, shedding new light on them. The Mao doesn't stop there: the works of contemporary artists who have taken hold of the icon appear in a final chapter.