Origins & Early Life

Wu Daozi (c. 685 – c. 758 CE or c. 689 – c.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

759 CE), also known as Daoxuan and Wu Tao Tzu, was a Chinese painter of the Tang dynasty. The British art historian Michael Sullivan considers him one of "the masters of the seventh century." In China, his paintings are believed to mark the peak of court painting. None of his works survive, but later surviving copies are based on his original drawings. Wu's father died when he was at an early age, and he subsequently lived in poverty. He learned calligraphy from Zhang Xu and He Zhizhang, before specialising in painting.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He pioneered realistic techniques, the formal establishment of brushwork, and landscape painting. He painted figures with round strokes so as to show their flowing clothes. He traveled widely and created murals in Buddhist and Daoist temples. Wu also drew mountains, rivers, flowers, birds. No authentic originals are extant, though some exist in later copies or stone carvings. Wu's famous painting of Confucius was preserved through being copied in a stone engraving.

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