Zhong Kui Gallery
Explore centuries of artistic interpretations of Zhong Kui, from classical traditions to modern ink painting. Tap any work to view it larger, or open an artist's collection.
- Works
- 150
- Artists
- 11
Browse by artist
Each collection page introduces the artist and lists every work held in the archive.
Ren Bonian (任伯年)
58 works
Ren Bonian (1840–1896) was a leading Shanghai School painter of the late Qing dynasty. His Zhong Kui paintings pair fluent brushwork with sharp, expressive characterization.
Pu Ru (溥儒)
40 works
Pu Ru, courtesy name Xinyu (1896–1963), was a painter and calligrapher from the Qing imperial family. His Zhong Kui paintings bring a scholarly, literati sensibility to the demon queller.
Qi Baishi (齐白石)
8 works
Qi Baishi (1864–1957) brought a bold, plain-spoken ink style to traditional subjects. His Zhong Kui images show the figure with humor and economy of line.
Xu Beihong (徐悲鸿)
3 works
Xu Beihong (1895–1953) combined Chinese ink painting with Western-influenced realism, giving Zhong Kui a more human and monumental presence.
Yan Geng (颜庚)
4 works
Yan Geng is known for a handscroll of Zhong Kui giving his sister away in marriage, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which dates it to the Yuan dynasty. In it a drunken Zhong Kui is propped on a small donkey while his sister rides a stubborn water buffalo.
Gong Kai (龚开)
3 works
Gong Kai is central to the history of Zhong Kui painting: his handscroll Zhongshan Going on Excursion is among the earliest surviving Zhong Kui images.
Zhang Daqian (张大千)
6 works
Zhang Daqian (1899–1983) reinterpreted classical Chinese themes with remarkable technical range, including works on Zhong Kui.
Li Keran (李可染)
7 works
Li Keran (1907–1989) is best known for landscapes and water buffalo. His Zhong Kui works link twentieth-century ink painting with traditional protective imagery.
Chen Hongshou (陈洪绶)
1 work
Chen Hongshou (1598–1652) was a late Ming figure painter famed for distinctive, stylized figures whose influence can be felt in later Zhong Kui images.
Wu Changshuo (吴昌硕)
12 works
Wu Changshuo (1844–1927) brought the force of seal carving and bold calligraphic brushwork to the Zhong Kui subject.
Fan Zeng (范曾)
8 works
Fan Zeng (born 1938) is a contemporary painter whose Zhong Kui images show the demon queller alive in modern Chinese figure painting.