Zhang Sengyao

CHINA, Jiangsu, Suzhou; Southern Liang dynasty

A native of Wu (present day Suzhou, Jiangsu), Zhang Sengyao was a painter and official in the imperial court. He was requested by Emperor Wu (reigned 502–549) of the Liang dynasty, a devout Buddhist, to paint temples so they would appear more magnificent. Zhang adopted an Indian painting method to create a unique three-dimensional effect on the door of Yicheng Temple in Jiangsu. He used thick red and green dyes for the streams, rocks, mountains, and valleys, without any contour lines in a technique known as the “boneless” method. He was the first Chinese painter who successfully drew Buddhist paintings with these Indian methods.
Zhang was well-known for his Buddhist and Daoist paintings, in addition to figures, portraits, flowers, birds, animals, and landscapes. He once illustrated two paintings, Vairocana Buddha and Confucius with His Ten Disciples, at Tianhuang Temple in Hubei, which were greatly appreciated by Emperor Ming (reigned 562–585) of the Liang dynasty. During the persecution of Buddhism between 560 and 578, Zhang’s illustration was saved because of image of Confucius.
Referred to as Zhang style, his depiction of Buddhist figures appeared three-dimensional with buxom bodies and delicate features. This style was acclaimed by painters of the Tang dynasty (618–907). Zhang style also greatly impacted the works between the Northern Dynasties (386–581) and Sui dynasty (581–618). The Buddha statues at the Maijishan Grottoes and Dunhuang Caves in Gansu, as well as the creative works of Wu Daozi, can be traced to this style. Alongside Cao Buxing, Gu Kaizhi, and Lu Tanwei, Zhang was renowned as one of the Four Great Painters of the Six Dynasties (220–589).
Zhang’s paintings recorded in Painting Annals of the Zhenguan Period include Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Shooting a Water Dragon, King Wu Taming a Tiger, and Vaisravana. Portrait of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty is recorded in Famous Paintings in History, and 16 other paintings were listed in Xuanhe Catalog of Paintings. His calligraphic works include the inscription on Five Planets and Twenty-Eight Constellations painted by Liang Lingzan.