Age, Biography and Wiki

Zao Wou-Ki was born on 1 February, 1920 in Beijing, China, is a Chinese-French painter (1920–2013). Discover Zao Wou-Ki's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 93 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation N/A
Age 93 years old
Zodiac Sign Aquarius
Born 1 February, 1920
Birthday 1 February
Birthplace Beijing, China
Date of death 9 April, 2013
Died Place Nyon, Switzerland
Nationality China

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 1 February. He is a member of famous painter with the age 93 years old group.

Zao Wou-Ki Height, Weight & Measurements

At 93 years old, Zao Wou-Ki height not available right now. We will update Zao Wou-Ki's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
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Who Is Zao Wou-Ki's Wife?

His wife is Xie Jinglan (謝景蘭) Chan May-Kan Françoise Marquet

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Xie Jinglan (謝景蘭) Chan May-Kan Françoise Marquet
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Zao Wou-Ki Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Zao Wou-Ki worth at the age of 93 years old? Zao Wou-Ki’s income source is mostly from being a successful painter. He is from China. We have estimated Zao Wou-Ki's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income painter

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Timeline

1920

Zao Wou-Ki (1 February 1920 – 9 April 2013 ) was a Chinese-French painter.

He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Zao Wou-Ki graduated from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he studied under Fang Ganmin and Wu Dayu.

Zao was born in Beijing with family roots in Dantu, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province.

In his childhood he was brought back to his hometown Dantu where he studied calligraphy and gained acceptance to the Hangzhou School of Fine Arts.

1935

From 1935 to 1941, he studied painting at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, where he was taught by Lin Fengmian, Fang Ganmin and Wu Dayu.

1948

In 1948, he went with his wife Xie Jinglan (謝景蘭), a composer, to Paris to live on the same block in Montparnasse where the classes of Émile Othon Friesz took place.

His earliest exhibitions in France were met with praise from Joan Miró and Picasso.

Zao and his wife Lalan (artist) (Xie Jinglan) pursued their own careers, their son having stayed in China with Zao's parents.

1950

In the mid-1950s, they were divorced.

I. M. Pei had a fellowship to Europe in the early 1950s and he met Wou-Ki at Galerie Claude Bernard, the gallery that represented Wou-Ki.

1957

In 1957, Zao decided to visit the United States where his younger brother Chao Wu-Wai was living in Montclair, New Jersey, close to the art scene of New York City.

He wanted to learn more about "pop art".

While in the US, he painted seven canvases at his brother's house.

There are relatively few items dating from that year (1957).

Years later, the largest canvas was given by his brother, Chao Wu-Wai, to the Detroit Institute of Arts.

He left the U.S. after a six-week stay, traveling to Tokyo and then to Hong Kong, where he met his second wife Chan May-Kan (陈美琴, May Zao), a film actress who had two children from her first marriage.

Under the influence of Zao, she became a successful sculptor.

1972

In 1972, she committed suicide at age 41 due to mental illness.

In 1972, he also visited his family in China who he had not seen since 1948.

1982

In 1982, he was invited to paint for the Fragrant Hills Hotel in Beijing, designed by I. M. Pei.

1983

In 1983, he returned to his alma mater, the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou to give lectures.

Former French President Jacques Chirac was offered a painting by Zao Wou-Ki by his ministers during their last meeting.

By the end of his life Zao had stopped producing new paintings due to health problems.

1997

In 1997, he married his third wife Françoise Marquet, who now serves as president of the Zao Wou-Ki Foundation.

Zao's works, influenced by Paul Klee, are orientated to abstraction.

He names them with the date in which he finishes them, and in them, masses of colours appear to materialise a creating world, like a Big Bang, where light structures the canvas.

He worked formats in triptychs and diptychs.

While his work was stylistically similar to the Abstract Expressionists whom he met while travelling in New York, he was influenced by Impressionism.

Zao Wou-Ki stated that he had been influenced by the works of Matisse, Picasso and Cézanne.

His meetings with Henri Michaux pushed him to review his Indian ink techniques, always based in Chinese traditional drawings.

Zao was a member of the Académie des beaux-arts, and was considered to have been one of the most successful Chinese painters during his lifetime.

2009

Between 2009 and 2014, the value of his work tripled, leading to a scarcity of paintings and to prices rising even higher.

2013

He died on 9 April 2013 at his home in Switzerland.

2018

In 2018 the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, held an exhibition of around 40 works by Zao.

From September 2023 to February 2024, the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou held an exhibition of almost 200 works of their alumni and former teacher Zao.

It consisted of 129 oil paintings of the artist.

A floor was devoted to showcase his entire life from birth in China to life in Paris.

The exhibition was part of a larger cultural programme attached to the 2022 Asian Games and China–France Year of Culture and Tourism in 2024.

Therefore, the exhibition was sponsored by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Zhejiang government with support of the French and Swiss embassies in China.