Han Gan
Han Han Gan (c. 706–783) was a Chinese painter during the Tang dynasty. • Illustration — Two horses and a groom • Illustration — Night-Shining White, portrait of a favorite steed of Emperor Xuanzong He came from a poor family in either Chang'an, modern-day Xi'an, Shaanxi; Lantian, modern-day Shaanxi; or Daliang, modern-day Kaifeng, Henan. Han became a student of Cao Ba, a court painter.
Also recorded as Han Kan · Gan Han · Kan Han
Han Gan
Han Gan · Peinture chinoise et tradition lettrée - auteur:Nicole Vandier-Nicolas - éditeur: Éditions du Seuil - langue:français - année: 1983-pages: 259 - isbn: 2020064405 - passage=130 · Public domain
- Born
- 706 · Kaifeng.
- Died
- 783 · People's Republic of China.
- Nationality
- Tang dynasty
- Occupation
- painter
- Fields
- portrait · animal
- Teachers
- Cao Ba
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Han Han Gan (c. 706–783) was a Chinese painter during the Tang dynasty. • Illustration — Two horses and a groom • Illustration — Night-Shining White, portrait of a favorite steed of Emperor Xuanzong He came from a poor family in either Chang'an, modern-day Xi'an, Shaanxi; Lantian, modern-day Shaanxi; or Daliang, modern-day Kaifeng, Henan. Han became a student of Cao Ba, a court painter.
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wikidata · Q561952 · wikipedia · Han Gan
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After his studies, Han became a painter in the Tang court. Han painted many portraits with Buddhist and Daoist themes during his career; however, he is most widely remembered for his paintings of horses. He was reputed to have "learned from the horses in the imperial stables" and 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. The horse as a central subject was continued by Li Gonglin of the Song Dynasty. He is honored with a crater named for him on Mercury.
Training under Cao Ba is recorded. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait and animal. Places of work recorded in the authority are China. Work by Han Gan is recorded in the collections of Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Palace Museum.
First Snow on the River Banks, original
Night-Shining White, ca. 750, by Han Gan
Han Gan · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1977
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Kaifeng.
Birth place
People's Republic of China.
Death place
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reference work
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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