'Han Gan' (
Chinese: 韩干/韓幹) (c.
706-
783) was a
Tang Dynasty painter.

Man herding horses

Portrait of "Night-Shining White", a favorite steed of Emperor
Xuanzong
He came from a poor family in either
Changan, modern day
Xi'an,
Shaanxi;
Lantian, modern day Shaanxi; or Daliang, modern day
Kaifeng,
Henan. As a young man, Han Gan was recognized by
Wang Wei, a prominent
poet, who sponsored Han in learning arts. After his studies, Han became a painter in the Tang court.
Han painted many portraits and Buddhistic themed paintings during his career; however, he is most widely remembered for his paintings of horses. He was reputed to be able to not only portray the physical body of the horse, but also its spirit. His reputation rose and surpassed that of his teacher. Horse painters of later generations studied Han.
External links
★
[1] - in Chinese