Culture> Art

Catch the appeal of Zhang Daqian - an evergreen artist

By Lin Qi ( China Daily ) Updated: 2014-02-07 10:26:18

A visitor took photo of one of Zhang Daqian's works at the National Art Museum of China. Photo by Jiang Dong / China Daily

It has been more than three decades since the death of Zhang Da-qian (Chang Dai-chien, 1899-1983), but interest in his work has intensified, with auction prices of his masterpieces skyrocketing in recent years.

Mist Clearing Over Pine-covered Peaks, splash-color by Zhang Daqian. Provided to China Daily

Some 6,000 viewers showed up at a two-day preview before the official opening of a Zhang Daqian art exhibition on Jan 22 at the National Art Museum of China - evidence of the artist's infinite appeal.

Titled Vast Mountains and Rivers, the exhibition celebrates the master's legendary life and his creativity in exposing Chinese painting to the international scene.

The 100-odd mountain-and-water, flower-and-bird, figure paintings and calligraphy on display form only a small fraction of the total output of Zhang, one of the most prolific artists in modern China.

"The exhibition is limited in scale but promises a rare opportunity to appreciate high-quality examples of Zhang's art styles of different periods," says Fan Di'an, director of NAMOC.

The 20th century witnessed tremendous transformations in Chinese art, and inspired by the world art movements, pioneering artists like Zhang focused on renewing the motifs and forms of Chinese painting. They kept enriching the landscape of traditional ink art.

Zhang carried out scrupulous studies of old masters of literati painting, such as Shi Tao, and demonstrated an outstanding ability in forging their works. He sourced much inspiration from copying the Buddhist frescos in the caves in Mogao in Gansu province and Yulin in Shaanxi province in the 1940s.

More Zhang Daqian's works on exhibition

Yet it is his invention of the splash-color (pocai) technique that refreshed the visual experiences of Chinese painting and brought a modern touch to the long-standing ink art.

Zhang suffered overfatigue during the time-consuming construction of the Garden of Eight Virtues, a Chinese garden-style retreat in Brazil he created in memory of his hometown in Sichuan province. The strain caused an eye capillary rupture in 1957.

His deteriorating eyesight forced him to reduce the emphasis on details and apply the splash-ink and color brushwork.