Wu Daozi

Wu Daozi (c. 685 – c. 758 CE^[1] or c. 689 – c. 759 CE), also known as Daoxuan and Wu Tao Tzu, was a Chinese painter of the Tang dynasty. The British art historian Michael Sullivan considers him one of "the masters of the seventh century,"^[1] Some of his works survive; many, mostly murals, have been lost.

Wu lost his father at an early age and lived in poverty. He learned calligraphy from Zhang Xu and He Zhizhang, before specialising in painting. He pioneered realistic techniques, the formal establishment of brushwork, and landscape painting. He painted figures with round strokes so as to show their flowing clothes.