Works

He traveled widely and created murals in Buddhist and Daoist temples. Wu also drew mountains, rivers, flowers, birds. No authentic originals are extant, though some exist in later copies or stone carvings. Wu's famous painting of Confucius was preserved through being copied in a stone engraving.

Legends

Numerous legends gathered around Wu Daozi, often concerning commissions by Emperor Xuanzong.

In one, Emperor Xuanzong called him to paint a wall of his palace. He painted a wall mural displaying a rich nature-scene set in a valley, containing a stunning array of flora and fauna and including a cave at the foot of a mountain. The story goes that he informed the emperor that it's not just what the emperor is able to see, Wu Daozi has made this painting in such a way, that a spirit dwells in the cave. Next, he clapped his hands and entered the cave, inviting the emperor to follow. The painter entered the cave but the entrance closed behind him and, before the astonished emperor could move or utter a word, the painting vanished from the wall. This story depicts the spirituality of art. The contemporary Swedish writer Sven Lindqvist meditates on this legend and the challenge that it poses to modern aesthetics in his book, The Myth of Wu Tao-Tzu.

Another legend states that Emperor Xuanzong sent Wu Daozi to Sichuan to study the green waters of the Jialing River in order to complete a mural of its entire course. Supposedly, Wu returned without sketches and rapidly painted the entire river from memory, completing the 300-li account within a single day. It is sometimes added that his technique was foiled by Li Sixun, who accompanied him and followed the traditional practice of working slowly from numerous prepared sketches. To the extent that it is grounded in a real event, however, it probably only reflects Wu's speed of execution and not a lack of reliance on sketches.

Another has it that a painter found one of the last surviving murals of Wu Daozi and learned to imitate the style. He then destroyed the wall, possibly by pushing it into a river, to ensure that no one else could learn the same secrets.

Legacy

The Presentation of Buddha was featured in 2004-5 television presentations in China.

File:EB1911 China - Wu Taotzü- Sakyamuni.jpg|Black and white reproduction of a portrait of Sakyamuni (the Buddha), attributed to Wu Daozi, published in 12th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (1911)

File:Wu Daozi. The Daoist Official of Earth. Jin-Yuan dynasty. 12-13 cent. MFA, Boston..jpg|Daoist deity of Earth, attributed to Wu Daozi

File:Wu Daozi. The Daoist Official of Heaven. Jin-Yuan dynasty. 12-13 cent. MFA, Boston..jpg|Daoist deity of Heaven

生平

出生年份為685-758。吳道子幼年家境貧寒，初為民間畫工，相傳曾隨張旭、賀知章學習書法，年輕時即有畫名。後來作了山東兗州瑕丘縣尉，不久即辭職。漫遊洛陽，從事壁畫創作。時曾為將軍裴旻作畫，被當時人將張旭草書、裴旻舞劍、吳道子作畫同時稱為「三絕」。

開元年間以善畫被唐玄宗召入宮中，歷任供奉、中書省內教博士，改為道玄，後官寧王友（官名），此後一直為宮廷作畫。通過觀賞公孫大娘舞劍，體會用筆之道。吳道子擅佛教、道教人物畫，還有神鬼、人物、山水、鳥獸、草木、樓閣等，尤精于佛道、人物，長于壁畫創作，據載他曾于長安、洛陽兩地寺觀中繪製壁畫多達300餘堵，奇蹤怪狀，無有雷同，其中尤以繪于長安景雲寺的《地獄變相》聞名于時。

風格

吳道子的繪畫具有獨特風格。早年筆法較細，風格稠密；中年變為遒勁，宋代畫家米芾形容吳道子筆下圓潤似「蓴菜條」，滑溜細膩，波浪起伏，點劃之間，時見缺落，有筆不周而意周之妙。後人把他和張僧繇並稱「疏體」。吳道子所畫人物衣褶，飄飄欲舉，線條遒勁，瀟灑秀逸，當時人將他和北朝齊時代著名畫家曹仲達相提並論，稱他們為「吳帶當風，曹衣出水」，因為曹仲達畫中的人物，衣服常緊裹在軀體上；而吳道子筆下的人物，大袖飄飄，線條流暢。他利用線條的寬窄變化表現物體的凹凸，使線描的畫面具有立體感。他喜用焦墨勾線，略施淡彩，自然超出絹素，稱為「吳裝」。作畫線條簡練，筆才一二，象已應焉。其山水畫作蜀道之景，自為一家；又傳曾于大同殿壁畫嘉陵江三百餘里山水，一日而畢。吳道子的繪畫對後世影響極大，他被人們尊為「畫聖」，被民間畫工尊為祖師。蘇軾曾稱讚他說「畫至吳道子，古今之變、天下之能事畢矣」、「出新意于法度之中，寄好理于豪放之外」。

作品

吳道子在史籍中富有盛名，但因為他大量的創作是壁畫，所以很少有傳世作品保留下來，無真跡傳世，傳至今日的《送子天王圖》可能為宋代摹本，但已經可以窺見吳道子筆法的精髓；另外還流傳有《道子墨寶》等摹本；敦煌莫高窟第103、45、320、172窟及榆林窟25窟等洞窟的大型經變畫亦被認為是他的畫風；徐悲鴻曾經獲得一幅殘卷，經他和張大千鑑定，認為是吳道子真跡，可能是一幅壁畫的草圖，暫根據畫中人物取名為《八十七神仙卷》，此幅畫氣勢磅礡，人物閒適秀麗，是中國古代畫的精品。