PAINTERS from China

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Painters of all time. This list of famous Chinese Painters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Painters.

1. Shitao (1642 - 1707)

With an HPI of 60.96, Shitao is the most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 39 different languages on wikipedia.

Shitao or Shi Tao (simplified Chinese: 石涛; traditional Chinese: 石濤; pinyin: Shí Tāo; Wade–Giles: Shih-t'ao; other department Yuan Ji (Chinese: 原濟; Chinese: 原济; pinyin: Yuán Jì), 1642 – 1707), born into the Ming dynasty imperial clan as Zhu Ruoji (朱若極), was a Chinese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and landscape painter during the early Qing dynasty. Born in the Quanzhou County in Guangxi province, Shitao was a member of the royal house descended from the elder brother of Zhu Yuanzhang. He narrowly avoided catastrophe in 1644 when the Ming dynasty fell to invading Manchus and civil rebellion. Having escaped by chance from the fate to which his lineage would have assigned him, he assumed the name Yuanji Shitao no later than 1651 when he became a Buddhist monk. He moved from Wuchang, where he began his religious instruction, to Anhui in the 1660s. Throughout the 1680s he lived in Nanjing and Yangzhou, and in 1690 he moved to Beijing to find patronage for his promotion within the monastic system. Frustrated by his failure to find a patron, Shitao converted to Daoism in 1693 and returned to Yangzhou where he remained until his death in 1707. In his late years, he is said to have greeted the Kangxi Emperor while the latter was visiting Yangzhou.

2. Han Gan (706 - 783)

With an HPI of 60.16, Han Gan is the 2nd most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Han Gan (simplified Chinese: 韩干; traditional Chinese: 韓幹) (c. 706–783) was a Chinese painter during the Tang dynasty. He came from a poor family in either Chang'an, modern-day Xi'an, Shaanxi; Lantian, modern-day Shaanxi; or Daliang, modern-day Kaifeng, Henan. As a young man, Han Gan was recognized by Wang Wei, a prominent poet, who sponsored Han in learning arts. Han became a student of Cao Ba, a court painter. After his studies, Han became a painter in the Tang court. Han painted many portraits and Buddhistic and Daoist themed paintings during his career; however, he is most widely remembered for his paintings of horses. He was reputed to have "learned from the horses in the imperial stables" and to be able to not only portray the physical body of the horse, but also its spirit. His reputation rose and surpassed that of his teacher. Horse painters of later generations studied Han. The horse as a central subject was continued by Li Gonglin of the Song Dynasty. He is honored with a crater named for him on Mercury.

3. Gu Kaizhi (345 - 406)

With an HPI of 60.09, Gu Kaizhi is the 3rd most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Gu Kaizhi (simplified Chinese: 顾恺之; traditional Chinese: 顧愷之; pinyin: Gù Kǎizhī; Wade–Giles: Ku K'ai-chih; c. 344–406), courtesy name Changkang (長康), was a Chinese painter and politician during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420). He was a celebrated painter of ancient China. He was born in Wuxi and first painted at Nanjing in 364. In 366, he became an officer (Da Sima Canjun or Assistant to the Minister of Defense, 大司馬參軍). Later he was promoted to royal officer (Sanji Changshi or Gentleman in Waiting to the Emperor, 散騎常侍). He was also a talented poet and calligrapher. He wrote three books about painting theory: On Painting (畫論), Introduction of Famous Paintings of Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晉勝流畫贊) and Painting Yuntai Mountain (畫雲台山記). He wrote: "In figure paintings the clothes and the appearances were not very important. The eyes were the spirit and the decisive factor." Gu's art is known today through copies of several silk handscroll paintings attributed to him.

4. Guo Xi (1020 - 1090)

With an HPI of 59.60, Guo Xi is the 4th most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Guo Xi (Chinese: 郭熙; pinyin: Guō Xī; Wade–Giles: Kuo Hsi) (c. 1020 – c. 1090) was a Chinese landscape painter from Henan Province who lived during the Northern Song dynasty. One text entitled "The Lofty Message of Forest and Streams" (Linquan Gaozhi 林泉高致) is attributed to him. The work covers a variety of themes centered on the appropriate way of painting a landscape. He was a court professional, a literatus, well-educated painter who developed an incredibly detailed system of idiomatic brushstrokes which became important for later painters. One of his most famous works is Early Spring, dated 1072. The work demonstrates his innovative techniques for producing multiple perspectives which he called "the angle of totality." This type of visual representation is also called "Floating Perspective", a technique which displaces the static eye of the viewer and highlights the differences between Chinese and Western modes of spatial representation. The following is an excerpt from his treatise, "mountains and waters": The clouds and the vapours of real landscapes are not the same at the four seasons. In spring they are light and diffused, in summer rich and dense, in autumn scattered and thin, in winter dark and solitary. When such effects can be seen in pictures, the clouds and vapours have an air of life. The mist around the mountains is not the same at the four seasons. The mountains in spring are light and seductive as if smiling: the mountains in summer have a blue-green colour which seems to be spread over them; the mountains in autumn are bright and tidy as if freshly painted; the mountains in winter are sad and tranquil as if sleeping. Another painting that can be attributed to him is The Coming of Autumn. Both paintings capture the seasonal atmosphere and are regarded as important accomplishments of the Song Dynasty. Guo Xi was often referred to as a "Northern Song master" when it came to painting. His work inspired many later artists and he even had landscapes dedicated to him. His lesser-known "Deep Valley" scroll painting depicts a serene mountain valley covered with snow and several trees struggling to survive on precipitous cliffs. The ink washes and amorphous brush strokes are employed to model surfaces that suggest the veiling effects of the atmosphere. One of Guo Xi’s techniques was to layer ink washes to build up forms and his "Deep Valley" is a masterpiece of the use of light ink and magnificent composition. His son later described how Guo Xi approached his work: "On days when he was going to paint, he would seat himself at a clean table, by a bright window, burning incense to right and left. He would choose the finest brushes, the most exquisite ink; wash his hands, and clean the ink-stone, as though he were expecting a visitor of rank. He waited until his mind was calm and undisturbed, and then began."

5. Qi Baishi (1864 - 1957)

With an HPI of 59.38, Qi Baishi is the 5th most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his works. Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi taught himself to paint, sparked by the Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden. After he turned 40, he traveled, visiting various scenic spots in China. After 1917 he settled in Beijing. Qi was the master of Hu Jieqing, the wife of Lao She. The subjects of his paintings include almost everything, commonly animals, scenery, figures, toys, vegetables, and so on. He theorized that "paintings must be something between likeness and unlikeness, much like today's vulgarians, but not like to cheat popular people". In his later years, many of his works depict mice, shrimp or birds. He was also good at seal carving and called himself "the rich man of three hundred stone seals" (三百石印富翁). In 1953, he was elected president of the China Artists Association (中國美術家協會). He died in Beijing in 1957.

6. Mi Fu (1051 - 1107)

With an HPI of 59.27, Mi Fu is the 6th most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Mi Fu (Chinese: 米芾; pinyin: Mǐ Fú, 1051–1107 CE), born Mi Fei (Chinese: 米黻; pinyin: Mǐ Fú), was a Chinese painter, poet and calligrapher born in Taiyuan during the Song dynasty. He became known for his style of painting misty landscapes. This style would be deemed the "Mi Fu" style and involved the use of large wet dots of ink applied with a flat brush. His poetry was influenced by Li Bai and his calligraphy by Wang Xizhi. Mi Fu is regarded as one of the four greatest calligraphers of the Song dynasty, alongside Su Shi, Hung Tingjian and Cai Xian. His style is derived from calligraphers in earlier dynasties, however he developed unique traits of his own. His son, Mi Youren, also became a well known painter. He followed his father's artistic style, adopting his use of large dots of wet ink, a technique later nicknamed "Mi Dots". As a personality, Mi Fu was noted as an eccentric, including a mania of cleanliness. At times, he was deemed "Madman Mi" due to his obsession with collecting stones. He was also known to be a heavy drinker.

7. Ma Yuan (1160 - 1225)

With an HPI of 58.81, Ma Yuan is the 7th most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Ma Yuan (Chinese: 馬遠; pinyin: Mǎ Yuǎn; Wade–Giles: Ma Yüan; c. 1160–65 – 1225) was a Chinese painter of the Song dynasty. His works, together with that of Xia Gui, formed the basis of the so-called Ma-Xia (馬夏) school of painting, and are considered among the finest from the period. His works has inspired both Chinese artists of the Zhe school, as well as the early Japanese painters Shūbun and Sesshū.

8. Ni Zan (1301 - 1374)

With an HPI of 57.68, Ni Zan is the 8th most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Ni Zan (Chinese: 倪瓚; 1301–1374) was a Chinese painter during the Yuan and early Ming periods. Along with Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, and Wang Meng, he is considered to be one of the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty.

9. Tang Yin (1470 - 1524)

With an HPI of 57.68, Tang Yin is the 9th most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Tang Yin (Chinese: 唐寅; pinyin: Táng Yín; Cantonese Yale: Tong Yan; 6 March 1470 – 7 January 1524), courtesy name Bohu (伯虎) and Ziwei (子畏), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty period. Even though he was born during the Ming dynasty, many of his paintings, especially those of people, were illustrated with elements from Pre-Tang to Song dynasty art. Tang Yin is one of the most notable painters in the history of Chinese art. He is one of the "Four Masters of Ming dynasty” (Ming Si Jia), which also includes Shen Zhou (1427–1509), Wen Zhengming (1470–1559) and Qiu Ying (c. 1495–1552). His influence on the art of contemporaries, like Cai Han, is notable. Tang was also a talented poet, and together with his contemporaries Wen Zhengming, Zhu Yunming (1460–1526), and Xu Zhenqing, he was one of the "Four Literary Masters of the Wuzhong Region".

10. Dong Qichang (1555 - 1636)

With an HPI of 57.49, Dong Qichang is the 10th most famous Chinese Painter.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Dong Qichang (Chinese: 董其昌; pinyin: Dǒng Qíchāng; Wade–Giles: Tung Ch'i-ch'ang; courtesy name Xuanzai (玄宰); 1555–1636), was a Chinese art theorist, calligrapher, painter, and politician of the later period of the Ming dynasty.