Zhang Daqian may not be a household name in the West, but in China—and the global art market at large—he is on par with the likes of Warhol and Monet.

As a master of classical Chinese painting, Zhang’s work spanned traditions from ink landscapes to abstraction. He was called “Picasso of the East”, and his paintings reach sky-high prices.

In April, 2022, almost 40 years after his death, Zhang’s 1947 painting “Landscape after Wang Ximeng” became his most expensive work ever to sell at auction(拍卖会), fetching $47 million at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. It was just one in a string of major sales. The artist’s work generated more than $354 million at auction in 2016, exceeding(超过) any other artist—dead or alive—in the world that year, according to an annual ranking produced by the Artprice database. Last year, he finished 6th on that same list, ahead of market heavyweights like Vincent van Gogh and Banksy.

In many ways, “Landscape after Wang Ximeng” is typical of Zhang’s paintings. As the name explains, the painting was a modern take on 12th-century artist Wang Ximeng’s painting “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains”. Zhang’s painting faithfully recreated elements of the original, but he also gave the work a rich new quality. He challenged the original and transformed elements of the painting, which pushes it to a whole new level.

This may only be the tip of the iceberg, said art professor Mark Johnson. “There’s been a quick escalation in value as his genius is more widely recognized,” said Johnson, who co-organized a 2019 exhibition of Zhang’s work at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, in a phone interview. “I think prices will double soon,” he added. “There’s no question that Zhang Daqian is one of the most important artists of the 20th century,” Johnson said.

1.Why did the author mention “Picasso of the East”?

A To put up the price of Zhang’s paintings.

B To show Zhang’s reputation.

C To compare Zhang with Picasso.

D To amuse the readers.

解析：选B。B推理判断题。根据第一段和第二段可知，张大千在中国甚至是全球艺术市场非常有名，他的画被卖出了天价，由此可推知作者提及“东方毕加索”意在向读者展示张大千非常出名。故选B。

2.How does the author develop Paragraph 3?

A By giving a definition.

B By explaining reasons.

C By making a comparison.

D By listing some statistics.

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据第三段“$47 million”“$354 million”“exceeding any other artist...according to an annual ranking”“Last year, he finished 6th on that same list”等可知，在第三段中作者主要通过列举一些统计数据来表达自己的观点。故选D。

3.What can we know about “Landscape after Wang Ximeng”?

A It was painted over 40 years ago.

B It generated over $354 million.

C It was Zhang’s original work.

D It was once exhibited in 2019.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据第三段的“Zhang’s 1947 painting”可知《仿王希孟〈千里江山图〉》这幅作品绘于1947年，至今已超过40年。故选A。

4.What does the underlined word “escalation” mean?

A Understanding.

B Research.

C Increase.

D Difference.

解析：选C。C词义猜测题。根据最后一段的“I think prices will double soon”可知，约翰逊认为价格很快就会翻倍，即张大千的作品价值会“增加”。故选C。