Famous Modern Chinese Painters and Calligraphers to Know

Famous Modern Chinese Painters and Calligraphers to Know

China’s modern era — roughly the late 19th through the 20th century — produced an extraordinary generation of artists who reinvented ink painting and calligraphy. Whether you are collecting, decorating, or deepening your appreciation, these names form the essential map. Here are the leading figures, grouped by the paths they took.

Painters Who Mastered the Brush

• **Zhang Daqian (1899–1983):** the legendary Sichuan master of landscapes and splashed-color painting, whose distinctive personal script — known as the “Daqian style” — is famed for long, sweeping strokes.
• **Pu Xinyu (1896–1963):** Manchu prince and painter of landscapes and figures; his calligraphy follows the “Two Wangs” tradition, light and elegant.
• **Qi Baishi (1863–1957):** painter, calligrapher, and seal carver who opened new ground in everything he touched; his seal and clerical scripts are full, ancient, and vigorous.
• **Huang Binhong (1865–1955):** landscape master whose running script looks casual yet carries inner bone; his dry-ink seal script has a sparse, archaic flavor.
• **Xu Beihong (1895–1953):** pioneer of modern Chinese art education, celebrated for his horses; his calligraphy, guided by Kang Youwei, has a childlike simplicity.
• **Pan Tianshou (1897–1971):** painter whose bold, “domineering” style is matched by calligraphy built from stelae and the daring structures of Huang Daozhou.
• **Lu Yanshao (1909–1993):** landscape master who wrote running cursive with seal-script brushwork, full and mellow.
• **Xie Zhiliu (1910–1997):** painter and top connoisseur; his calligraphy descends from Chen Hongshou, with odd, lovely structures.

Scholar Calligraphers

• **Li Shutong (1880–1942):** a Renaissance man — among the first Chinese to study art abroad, a pioneer of spoken drama, and an art educator. After becoming a monk, he abandoned every art but calligraphy, writing sutras in an austere, serene hand.
• **Lu Xun (1881–1936):** China’s greatest modern writer; his calligraphy is scholarly and weighty, and a single page of his manuscript once sold for 40,000 RMB at auction.
• **Guo Moruo (1892–1978):** poet and historian whose brisk running script shines in plaques; his sign for the Rong Bao Zhai art shop is a classic.
• **Ma Yifu, Mao Dun, Lu Weizhao, Wang Quchang, Gao Ershi, Zhao Puchu:** scholars whose learning shows in the brush — from Lu Weizhao’s invented “flat seal” script to Wang Quchang’s revival of *zhangcao* cursive and Zhao Puchu’s Buddhist calm.

Statesmen and Public Figures

• **Mao Zedong (1893–1976):** his wild cursive, rooted in Zhang Xu and Huai Su, is among the most visually powerful calligraphy of the century.
• **Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925):** not a professional calligrapher, yet his handwriting carries the dignity of a statesman — “the person, as seen in the writing.”
• **Tan Yankai (1876–1930), Yu Youren (1878–1964), Ye Gongchuo (1881–1968):** officials whose calligraphy stood with the era’s best. Yu Youren, who served as president of the Executive Yuan, is remembered above all as the calligrapher who standardized modern cursive script.

A Practical Note for Collectors

This generation offers a rich field for collectors. Works by masters like Qi Baishi and Zhang Daqian command top prices at auction, while scholar calligraphy offers a more accessible entry. Whatever your budget, buy for authenticity and quality first — and let your eye, not the name alone, make the final decision.

If you’re considering a commissioned work, Badou Art’s specialists are happy to guide you.

Source: https://www.cntizi.com/7721.html