Zhang Daqian is one of the most well-known artists of the 20th century. Known for his shifting styles, he began as a guohua painter but was later regarded as an Impressionist and Expressionist painter.
Zhang was born in 1899 in Sichuan Province. He belonged to an artistic family, and first learned painting from his mother and older siblings. In 1917, he moved to Kyoto to study painting and textile dyeing techniques. Returning to Shanghai in 1919, Zhang began studying art under Zeng Xi and established a successful art career. In 1940, he was sent to Dunhuang to copy ancient Buddhist art. In Zhang’s two years and seven months there, he finished 276 pieces. In 1945, he held exhibitions in Paris, London, Prague and Geneva.
In 1949, Zhang headed to Taiwan, and later settled in Hong Kong. A year after, Zhang was invited to hold an exhibition in New Delhi, India, where he visited the Ajanta caves and compared the murals against those in Dunhuang. During his time in India, he produced many works with intricate details and techniques. In 1956, Zhang met up with Picasso in Nice, France, where the two exchanged paintings.
Zhang’s influence began spreading internationally, and he frequently travelled to and from one continent to another, holding exhibitions and gathering inspiration. He started developing a new style with splashes of coloured ink, combining Abstract Expressionism and traditional guohua. He expressed that there shouldn’t be a line between Eastern and Western art. Zhang believed that integrating the two meant perhaps using ink to paint Western paintings, and oil to paint guohua.
Zhang settled in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California in 1967. His first solo exhibition in California was in the same year at Stanford University where his works attracted a crowd of thousands. His stay in the States marked a period of peak production for Zhang. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the Pacific in 1974.
In Taiwan, Zhang frequently held exhibitions at the National Museum of History. He was awarded the Order of Chiang Chung-Cheng in 1982. He died a year after in Taipei at the age of 83.
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Letter to Pok Shau-fu
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Sailing Across Gorge
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Scholar and Chrysanthemum
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Cat and Butterfly
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Scholar by a Lush Tree
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Bamboo and Orchid
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Peonies
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Ink Lotus
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Lake and Mountains in Spring
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Scholar under Willow
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Scholar under a Banana Tree
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Lotus / Calligraphy in Running Script
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Lotus
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Banana Plant, Rock, Bird and Bamboo
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Plantain Lily
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Six-character Calligraphic Couplet in Running Script
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Versing in River
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Landscape in the Style of Shitao
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Boating under Cliff in the Style of Shitao
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Calligraphic Couplet
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983) / WANG JINGWEI (1883-1944)
Landscape / Letter to Ruan Yicheng
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Portrait of Bodhisattva
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Elegant Lotus
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Persimmons
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Scholar and Chrysanthemums
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Strolling in Mountains
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Misty Landscape by the Lake
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Scholar and Attendant Carrying a Qin
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Symbols of Longevity
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Temple at the Mountain Peak
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Ancient Temples Amidst Clouds
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Lotus
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Viewing the Waterfall
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Temple at the Mountain Peak
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Red Lotus and Mandarin Ducks
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Lotus
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Landscape along Highway Hengguan
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Contemplating upon an Autumn Landscape
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Guanyin in Early Tang Style
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Mount Emei
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Splashed Colour Lotus
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Garden of Eight Virtues in Pomo Style
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Spring Snow on Magnificent Hills
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Guanyin After Early Tang Style
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Summer on California Mountain
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Separation
ZHANG DAQIAN (CHINA, 1899-1983)
Splendour of the Peak
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Heavy Snow on a Mountain Pass
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Dwelling in the Qingbian Mountains
ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
Mist Clearing Over Pine Covered Peaks