Art, Design & Fashion
Distinguished
Zhang Daqian
1899 – 1983
Painter famed for splashed-ink landscapes
Distinguished is level 3 of 4 in the China Hall of Fame: sustained excellence over a career, widely honoured at home. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
One of the most celebrated Chinese painters of the twentieth century, known for his mastery of traditional styles and for the splashed-ink landscapes of his later years.
Zhang Daqian spent years copying the Buddhist murals of the Dunhuang caves and was a master of earlier painting styles, so skilled that some of his imitations of old masters entered museum collections as originals.
He lived abroad from 1949, in Argentina, Brazil and the United States, where he developed a free, colourful splashed-ink style.
He lived abroad from 1949, in Argentina, Brazil and the United States, where he developed a free, colourful splashed-ink style.
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