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Zhang Shengwen
Painter of the Dali kingdom, known as the artist of the long Buddhist handscroll of images, with a colophon of 1180
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 Painter Zhang Shengwen
Zhang Shengwen was a painter of the Dali kingdom in present-day Yunnan; nothing is known of his life beyond the work that bears his name. The Long Roll of Buddhist Images, also called the Dali Buddhist scroll, is a long handscroll in ink and colour that shows, in sequence, the Dali ruler Duan Zhixing worshipping the Buddha, buddhas and bodhisattvas, guardian kings, and the kings of sixteen nations. A colophon of 1180 by the monk Miaoguang names the painter Zhang Shengwen; some scholars think several hands worked on it and date it to about 1172-1176. It is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and is a principal survival of Dali Buddhist art.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active late 12th century under Duan Zhixing of Dali