Zhang Daqian
| Zhang Daqian | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Native name | 張大千 |
| Born |
Zhāng Zhèngquán (張正權) 10 May 1899 Neijiang, Sichuan, China |
| Died | 2 April 1983 (aged 83) Taipei, Taiwan |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | guohua, impressionism, expressionism |
| Zhang Daqian | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 張大千 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 张大千 | ||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Zhāng Dàqiān |
| Wade–Giles | Chang Ta-chien |
Zhang Daqian or Chang Dai-chien (Chinese: 張大千; pinyin: Zhāng Dàqiān; 10 May 1899 – 2 April 1983) was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a guohua (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist painter. In addition, he is regarded as one of the most gifted master forgers of the twentieth century.
Chang was born in 1899 in Sichuan Province to a financially struggling but artistic family. His first commission came at age 12, when a traveling fortune-teller requested he paint her a new set of divining cards. At age 17 he was captured by bandits while returning home from boarding school in Chongqing. When the bandit chief ordered him to write a letter home demanding a ransom, he was so impressed by the boy's brushmanship that he made the boy his personal secretary. During the more than three months that he was held captive, he read books of poetry which the bandits had looted from raided homes.
As a young adult Chang moved to Kyoto to learn textile dyeing techniques. He later returned to Shanghai and established a successful career selling his paintings.
The governor of Qinghai, Ma Bufang, sent Chang to Sku'bum to seek helpers for analyzing and copying Dunhuang's Buddhist art.
Due to the political climate of China in 1949, he left the country and resided in Mendoza, Argentina, São Paulo and Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil, and then to Carmel, California, before settling in Taipei, Taiwan in 1978. During his years of wandering he had several wives simultaneously, curried favor with influential people, and maintained a large entourage of relatives and supporters. He also kept a pet gibbon. He affected the long robe and long beard of a scholar.
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Wikipedia