Early Snow

Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien, 1899-1983), 1965 · ink and colour on panel, 45 x 60 cm · private collection

Zhang Daqian is one of the most famous Chinese painters of the 20th century, whose well-deserved fame is due as much to his talent as to his fascinating life and career as an artist. Born into a very humble family, during his early years as an artist Daqian decided to devote his prodigious talent to the highly profitable task of fasifying paintings by old Chinese masters, which were subsequently sold to collectors (including one to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston) for sums that allowed the artist to devote himself to painting in his own style. Although the main source of his style is the landscape tradition of Chinese painting, his travels around the world (including the United States and Brazil) brought him into contact with Western artists and styles, enriching his palette and setting him apart from other Chinese artists of his day.

“Early Snow” is a modestly sized work in which, as is usual in many of Zhang Daqian’s paintings, the figurative and the abstract coexist in a composition of extraordinary lyricism. The blue tones, typical of Daqian’s most famous works, evolve towards the white of the snow, creating a contrast with the yellow of the sun and the reds of the plants in the lower part of the painting, creating an effect eerily reminiscent of Van Gogh’s “Irises“.

G. Fernández – theartwolf.com