This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Daqian (simplified Chinese: 张大千; traditional Chinese: 張大千; pinyin: Zhāng Dàqiān; Wade-Giles: Chang Ta-Chien) (May 10, 1899 - April 2, 1983) was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. He is also regarded by many art experts as one of the most gifted master forgers of the twentieth century. Born in a family of artists in Sichuan, China, he studied textile dyeing techniques in Kyoto, Japan and returned to establish a successful career selling his paintings in Shanghai. A staunch supporter of the Kuomintang, he left China in 1948 and moved to Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil, and then to Carmel, California, before finally settling in Taipei, Taiwan.

"So prodigious was his virtuosity within the medium of Chinese ink and colour that it seemed he could paint anything. His output spanned a huge range, from archaising works based on the early masters of Chinese painting to the innovations of his late works which connect with the language of Western abstract art" (Kenson Kwok, Foreword to Chang Dai-Chien: The Enigmatic Genius).

A meeting between Chang and Picasso in 1956 was viewed as a summit meeting between the preeminent masters of Eastern and Western art. Picasso showed Chang some drawings done in "Chinese" style, but Chang remarked that they were not executed with the right tools and gave Picasso a set of Chinese brushes. Picasso then noticed Spanish brushes have more length and girth.

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (October 2009)

• Challenging the Past: The Paintings of Chang Dai-Chien, Shen C.Y. Fu, Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991
• Chang Dai-Chien: The Enigmatic Genius, Chen Jiazi, Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, designed and produced by Archipelago Press, an imprint of Editions Didier Millet, 2001

[edit] External links

• Zhang Daqian and his Painting Gallery at China Online Museum

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