Han Gan (Chinese: 韩干/韓幹) (c. 706-783) was a Chinese painter during the Tang Dynasty.
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. As a youthful man, Han Gan was official by Wang Wei, a prominent poet, who sponsored Han in learning arts. Han became a student of Cao Ba, a court painter. After his studies, Han became a painter in the Tang court.
Han painted many portraits and Buddhistic themed paintings 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 clever to not only picture the subconscious body of the horse, but next its spirit. His reputation rose and surpassed that of his teacher. Horse painters of complex generations studied Han.
He is fortunate with a crater named for him on Mercury.
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