Wu Dayu
A Visionary of the Abstract Spirit Born in Yixing, China, Wu Dayu emerged as a transformative figure in the landscape of twentieth-century art, serving as a bridge between the classical traditions of the East and the burgeoning modernism of the West. His journey toward becoming a pioneer of Chinese abstraction began with early studies in Shanghai before leading him to the heart of the European avant-garde. In 1922, Wu traveled to Paris, enrolling at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. It was within this vibrant, cosmopolitan atmosphere that his artistic identity began to coalesce,…
The Subject Atlas
A chart of Wu Dayu's corpus mapped not by date but by subject. Spokes are what they painted; rings are when; and the threads between stars reveal the patrons and places that secretly connect them.
Spokes — Subject
Each arm of the atlas gathers works by what they depict: portraits, sacred scenes, mythologies, and the scientific studies. Click a spoke to swing that cluster to the top.
Rings — Career Period
Distance from the center marks time. The innermost ring is the earliest period; the outermost, the final years. Style matures as you move outward.
Threads — Shared Context
Coloured lines link works bound by the same patron, commission, or theme. Trace a context to watch related clusters light up across subjects.