Landscape with rocks and willows

Both a traditionalist and a modernist, Zhang Daqian was one of the last artists in the Chinese literati tradition; he even dressed in the style of the eleventh century poet Su Shi. Zhang journeyed widely throughout China and the famous mountains he visited firsthand profoundly affected his art. In 1949 he left China, never to return, and traveled extensively throughout the world, living first in India, then Brazil, California, and finally, Taiwan. His paintings, like this one, done shortly after his exile from China, convey his passion for the Chinese landscape.