Zhang Ding
Zhang Ding is one of China's most influential artists in the 20th century.
Born in Heishan County, Liaoning Province, Zhang's early career included many political works. After garnering fame during the War of Resistance Against Japan with his anti-Japanese caricatures, he moved to Yan'an, the then-political center of the Communist Party and worked as an art teacher. He designed the emblem for the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the political advisory body, after the People's Republic of China was established and then co-designed the national emblem.
Zhang established himself in a variety of mediums, from traditional Chinese brush painting and calligraphy to abstracts, caricatures and murals. His achievements helped bridge the gap between the Eastern and Western genres, with his work often viewed as a combination of Picasso and traditional Chinese painting.
In 1979, he became a household name when he designed the characters in Nezha Nao Hai (Nezha Conquers the Dragon King), which is still considered one of China's best animated films and garnered the attention of the international community. Zhang's work has been showed in Leipzig, Prague, Moscow and Paris. In 1956 in France, he became one of the few Chinese artists to meet Picasso in person.
In January,2010, Zhang was honored with the Center for Zhang Ding Art Research at Tsinghua University, whose Academy of Arts and Design he co-founded in 1955 as the Central Academy of Arts and Design.
Zhang died of renal failure in Beijing on February 21, 2010. He was 93.
