Zhang Daqian (1898-1983): Chinese Ink Painting in the Republic of China (Sales totaling $345 million)

A work by Zhang Daqian [Photo: flickrchina.com]

Zhang Daqian is one of the greatest and most prestigious Chinese artists of the 20th century. Renowned for his traditional landscape and lotus works, he dipped into all types of painting and achieved great successes in the fine arts. He has copied the Buddhist wall paintings of the Dunhuang Mogao Grotto for art creation in 1940, and developed the so-called "color-splashing" technique due to his deteriorating eyesight in later years.