Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Zhang Hong
Late Ming Suzhou painter whose landscapes were drawn from places he had visited rather than from old models
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Zi Jundu · Hao Hejian
Zhang Hong, courtesy name Jundu, styled Hejian, came from Suzhou. He painted landscapes and figures and worked from direct observation, often depicting places in and around Suzhou that he had visited himself, in plain, unforced compositions that stood apart from the fashion for imitating old masters; the scholars of Suzhou held him in high regard. His hanging scroll Mount Qixia, now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, carries his note that he painted it in the winter of 1634 after climbing the mountain in the rain. Other topographical works include the album of the Zhi Garden in Changzhou. He was born in 1577 or 1579 by different accounts; the year of his death is unknown.
Life and times
Dates Born 1577 or 1579 by different accounts; date of death unknown; a dated work of 1634 survives