Zhang Anzhi

Chinese painter Zhang Anzhi was the author of the book A History of Chinese Painting, published one year after his 1991 death. In the book he recounted the long history of Chinese painting, and defined its traditions through the ages, beginning with pictures drawn by early men of the Neolithic period, through the successive dynasties, to modern and contemporary Chinese paintings that have inherited and developed those traditions.

In 1931, Zhang graduated from the Department of Art at Nanjing Central University. In 1946, he went to the University of London for further studies. A painter of the modern school. Zhang was later named professor and taught at various universities, including the Central Institute of Fine Arts in Beijing. In 1976, Zhang was seconded to the Department of Art History. He was a permanent executive member of the All-China Society of Art History. In 1982, Zhang taught at New York University.

Zhang preferred oil painting, but also created Chinese paintings, sketches, watercolors and calligraphy. Unfortunately, his work “Teng Kua-Fu“ could not be identified. The character Kua-Fu was a giant in the Chinese mythology and the fastest runner, who challenged the sun to a race.