Great painting artists

Zao Wou-Ki

A genius of abstract painting

Zao Wou-Ki, was a Chinese painter and engraver naturalized French in 1964. He born on February 1, 1920 in Beijing, and died on April 9, 2013 (aged 93) in Nyon (Switzerland).

**“19.03.62”** (1962) – **by Zao Wou-Ki** *( Photo author: G. Starke . Source: flickr)*

In the 1950s, he joined the new École de Paris, then in lyrical abstraction before becoming, according to Claude Roy’s definition: “… a great painter who pursues in his work a dozen or more of great centuries of Chinese art, and who is one of the best modern painters of the West. “

**“The Night is Stirring”** (1956) – **by Zao Wou-Ki** *( Photo author: mark6mauno . Source: flickr)*

The culture of which Zao Wou-Ki was impregnated, in his family and by his formation, opened him to the immense tradition of Chinese art, as a central element of literate culture, at the beginning of the 20th century. But his evolution in contact with Western artists, leads him progressively towards the lyrical abstraction, but also towards the informal art, towards the gestural art of which he is one of the most famous representative in France

*Photo author: Yannick . Source: flickr*

France has paid tribute to him several times. He was named Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, Commander of the National Order of Merit, Officer of Arts and Letters, and in 1995, he created an original work when the Post Office issued a postage stamp in his honor