Zao Wou-Ki was born in 1920 in Beijing into a family of distant imperial origins. At the age of fourteen, he entered the Hangzhou School of Fine Arts where he learned traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. Very quickly he was inspired by French painting and became interested in Matisse, Cézanne or Modigliani. At the age of 28, he decided to leave his native China for France and more particularly Paris and the Montparnasse district where he frequented the artistic world and quickly became known to gallery owners. From 1952 he often exhibits in Paris and abroad. In 1964, with the support of André Malraux, Zao Wou-Ki became a naturalized French citizen. In addition to his paintings, some of which are monumental, Zao Wou-Ki works in lithography and engraving, illustrating many poetry collections, including those of his friend Henri Michaux. His painting is considered to belong to the current of lyrical abstraction. Suffering from Alzheimer's disease since 2006, Zao Wou-Ki died on April 16, 2013 in Nyon (Switzerland) and is buried in the cemetery of Montparnasse.