Zhang Ze

CHINA, Sichuan, Neijiang; Qing dynasty

Zhang Ze was a painter and calligrapher who was also known as Shanma or Shanzi. He was also the elder brother of the painting master, Zhang Daqian, also known as Chang Dai-Chien. Zhang learned painting from his mother as a child, but later studied under renowned artist, Li Ruiqing. He specialized in painting landscapes, flowers, and animals, especially tigers.
His extant paintings include Lions and Song of Righteousness. Additionally, The Twelve Beauties, a painting in which he depicted tigers in varying positions, was recorded in Collection of Tiger Paintings by Zhang Ze. He also painted Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Amitayus Buddha. The latter, painted in 1924, includes an inscription reading “Amitayus Buddha” written in seal script by Chang Dai-Chien in the upper left corner. His other works, the Tiger and one other painting are kept at the Sichuan Provincial Museum in Chengdu. His calligraphic piece, Verse Couplets on the Pillars is in the Xuanzang Tripitaka Compound of Daci’en Temple in Shaanxi.